Information about Sneaker (footwear)

An athletic shoe is a generic name for a shoe designed for sporting and physical activities, and is different in style and build than a dress shoe. Originally known as sporting apparel, today they are known as casual footwear. Athletic shoes, depending on the location and the actual type of footwear, can also go by the name trainers (British English), sandshoes (Australian English) running shoes or runners (Canadian English, Australian English, Hiberno-English), sneakers (North American English, Australian English), sport shoes, gym shoes, tennis shoes, tennies, sneaks, takkies (South African English).

Use of athletic shoes

Use in sports

The term athletic shoes is used for running, basketball, and tennis (amongst others) but tends to exclude shoes for sports such as football (soccer) and rugby, which are generally known as "boots", or in the USA as "cleats".

The shoes themselves are made of flexible material, typically featuring a sole made of rubber. While the original design was basic, manufacturers have since tailored athletic shoes for the different purposes that they can be used for. A specific example of this is the spiked shoe developed for track running.

High-end running shoes will often come in different shapes suited to different foot types.

Etymology

The British English term "trainer" derives from "training shoe". There is evidence [1] that this usage of "trainer" originated as a genericised tradename for a make of training shoe made in 1968 by Gola.

Plimsolls (British English) are indoor athletic shoes, and are also called sneakers in American English. The word "sneaker" is often attributed to Henry Nelson McKinney, an advertising agent for N. W. Ayer & Son, who, in 1917, coined the term because the rubber sole made the shoe stealthy or quiet, all other shoes, with the exception of moccasins, made noise when you walked. However, the word was in use at least as early as 1887, as the Boston Journal of Education made reference to "sneakers" as "the name boys give to tennis shoes".

Popular brands

Main article: List of athletic shoe brands

Popular brands include Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Umbro, New Balance, Converse, K-Swiss, Puma, Lacoste, Shaq, Asics, Etnies, Brooks, Keen Footwear, Vans, Skechers, Power and British Knights etc.

The first brand of fair trade sneakers, Veja, was launched in 2005.

Types of sneakers

• High-tops cover the ankle.
• Low-tops do not cover the ankle.
• Mid-cut are in-between high-tops and low-tops.
• Sneaker boots extend to the calf.

Trivia

• The average tennis shoe will travel 521 miles (828 km) in its lifetime.
• In Romanian, the word for sneakers is "adidasi" because Adidas was the first company to introduce sneakers to the market.
• In Russia and other Russian-speaking countries, the word for sneakers is "kedi" (Russian: кеды), which apparently originates from the Keds brand, and is a Russian plural form of the word Ked.
• In many Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, the word for sneakers is "tenis" ("tênis", in Portuguese), as in tennis shoes.

References

• BBC Sport — "The history of running shoes"
• "2002: A Sneaker Odyssey"
• The History of Sport Shoes
• Smith, Ian. "Do the Shoes Fit?" Time; 09/27/99, Vol. 154 Issue 13, p.111
• Globus, Sheila. "What's Your Athletic Shoe IQ?" Current Health 2; Sep2002, Vol. 29 Issue 1, p12
• "The History of Shoes"