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In the Corporate Olympics, who won the world’s fastest spikes?
Like the Sports drinks and cola beverage industry, the sports shoes market is a highly competitive one, even more competitive than the Men’s 100 meters!
My first recollection of the Corporate Olympics was in 1972. Lasse Viren won the 5000 and 10000 meter double, and immediately after winning the race, he took off his spikes and did his victory lap with his ASICS spikes held high in the air for the world to see.
Back then, ASICS was known as Onitsuka Tiger. In 1977, Onitsuka Tiger merged with GTO and JELENK to form ASICS Corporation.
By the way, “ASICS” is an acronym of the Latin phrase “Anima Sana In Corpore Sano” which translates literally to “a sound mind in a sound body”.
ADIDAS is an acronym for “All Day I Dream About Sex Sports”… just kidding, we all know it’s for the 2 German brothers Adi and Rudi Dasler, with “ADI” and “DAS”.
As fate would have it, Rudi Dasler went on to form Puma in 1948.
I’ll save the history lesson on NIKE, REEBOK and New Balance for another post. After all, it’s still the summer holidays.
Beijing 2008: PUMA, NIKE or ADIDAS?
Here are some of the pre-Olympic favorites that didn’t win an individual Olympic Gold medal:
Nike had Sanya Richards in her speed suit arm bands, plus custom shoes for Asafa Powell Nike Zoom Aerofly and Liu Xiang NIKE Zoom Aerofly LX Spikes.
Adidas had Jeremy Wariner’s Adidas Lone Star Spikes, Tyson Gay and the “Impossible Is Nothing” Allyson Felix.
The winner in Track and Field?
Puma.
By a long shot.
Usain Bolt made the Theseus II golden spikes world famous. Every kid in Jamaica America the WORLD wants a pair of the new Puma Theseus II spikes now!
In case you missed this, here are the Chasingbolt.com PUMA video series that were shot prior to the Olympics.
Did PUMA know something we didn’t know?
Jimson Lee
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Puma is one of my favorite shoes but I must say i will still go for Nike. Its to good to know how those names originated in the first place. i didn’t know that founders of adidas and puma are brothers. Well i think i will need to research more about history. I will come back to see your article on Nike, reebok and New Balance.