History of Athletic Sandals Part 2

Throughout the Middle Ages sports were played in different cultures but it was the British in the 17th and 18th centuries who appeared to keep up the Greek traditions of racing in a straight line. As the influence of the British Empire with its concentration on militaria and discipline permeated throughout Europe and the colonies, many were taken with the idea of competition and fair play. Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin saw a window of opportunity and wanted to bring trading nations together on the field of athletics. This was a good commercial opportunity for suppliers to manufacture sport's clothing and footwear.

More recently the athletic sandal has made several reappearances and in different guises. The exercise sandal was very popular during the nineteen sixties and early 70s. It was never very clear weather the shoe 'exercised' the foot by its intrinsic shape, or was the ideal footgear to take exercise in. Shaped like the sole of the foot the shoe combined the properties of a simple sandal with a clog. They remain popular to the present day. With the introduction of extreme sport such as water rafting, the athletic sandal has been given a new lease of life. The trend started by Mark Thatcher, not the male offspring of Baroness Thatcher, but an entrepeneur she might be proud of, none the less. Fourteen years ago Thatcher lost his job as a geophysist. His hobby was white water rafting and he began to concentrate more and more on the sport. A source of continual annoyance to Thatcher and his friends was the flip flops they had would constantly wash away. He designed a prototype sandal which would not leave the foot. The sandal with a heel strap was called Teva. This is Hebrew for "nature". The natural sandal held fast even in the most trying of circumstances.

Now Nike, Reebok and Timberland among others sell this very popular item. The new sporting thongs come in a pretty price and would set you back as much as a pair of moderately priced sports shoes. Nothing is too good for the fashionable but a cautionary warning is necessary. With so many eateries and watering holes now operating a dress code to keep the riff raff out, trend-setters wearing expensive sports sandals are as likely to be banned from entry, as "bums in thongs.' In Australia the sandal (referred to simply as, thongs) have become an icon. Loved and loathed it is considered to be as Australian as cork hats and Foster's Lager. Interesting to note this love affair with thongs came to pass at the time of the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, when television viewers were taken with the Japanese swimming team, who just happened to wear geta clogs prior to competition. A clever shoe retailer captured the moment by selling similar sandals to Australians who bought them in their millions