Since the original story about the upcoming release of the Nike fencing shoe (the Ballestra), we’ve received several comments from fencers who have read about the shoes or seen them at one of the events. We received several comments at the NAC and via email concerning the arch support of the Nike Ballestra.
Greg B. writes:
“Hi Craig: I read with interest J. L. Larsen’s article that Nike was looking at foot injuries in their research for a fencing shoe. If you have a way to pass this on, Nike should be looking at plantar fasciitis and achilles tendon tendonitis. These are among the most common injuries, especially once you get a few years on you.”
“A good shoe with proper arch support is considered the prevention for these injuries in other sports and I’m sure will also apply here. So, if you can send word on to the right places you’ll promote fencing as a sport you don’t have to give up once out of your twenties.”
Sean McDowell, Creative Director for Nike Olympic Footwear responds:
“You are correct we have found in our research that the highest percentage of injuries to fencers are plantar fasciitis and ankle injuries including tendonitis of the achilles.”
“This is one of the places we start any new project is by working with the Nike Sports Research Scientists to try and alleviate these problems. We added a few features that address these issues. The outsole is extremely flat and sufficiently wide. When a midsole is scooped the number of plantar fasciitis cases increase dramatically. We also added extra cushioning in the heel and angled that cushioning to the proper lunge position. The very round heel shape also reduces the impact on the heel bone and achilles tendon.”
“Our shoe has only been on athletes for a few months, but so far we have reduced the number of injuries among those athletes.”
If you have more questions or comments about the Nike Fencing Shoe (or any other topic), send your email to webmaster@fencing.net