1984....what shoes did AlSal wear at LA??

At the time, we always assumed it was the American Eagle from looking at him no inside info though.

Yeah, I think they were Eagles. Loved those racing flats back then. The real question should be: Was he too sexy for his shirt? The LA heat got him all sexy-like and exposing himself like that. That dang ol' LA sexiness was in the air.

Carlos Lopes is 63 now. Wow, that makes me feel old!

Pretty sure that they were the Spiridons. I think that they later made a version of the same flat called the Spiridon Gold. They weren't the American Eagles. Those had been long discontinued at that point.

It was a custom shoe made in Exeter, New Hampshire. The majority of 1984 Olympic shoes with NIKE swooshes were made there.

Some of NIKE's runner's at that time wore a modified racing flat designed in 1980 by Jeff Johnson called the Skylon (yes the Skylon was a flat first). If I remember correctly Alberto's shoes were built like the Skylon with a mess upper to keep the heat in the shoe to a minimum. It had airsole cushioning. The Eagle and American Eagle were made around the same time.

Joe

nikeman wrote:

Pretty sure that they were the Spiridons. I think that they later made a version of the same flat called the Spiridon Gold. They weren't the American Eagles. Those had been long discontinued at that point.

Lopes wore Spiridons

I believe that the actual shoe sits in a glass case in the lobby of the Electric Station restaurant in Eugene, Oregon. Salazar was, at one time, a part owner of this restaurant.

nikeman wrote:

Pretty sure that they were the Spiridons. I think that they later made a version of the same flat called the Spiridon Gold. They weren't the American Eagles. Those had been long discontinued at that point.

They really were American Eagles. I owned 2 pair at the time.

'the same flat called the Spiridon Gold'

I used to have a pair of those - great shoes

I think Carlos Lopes wore a pair of those when winning the Olympic Marathon

You having owned two pair and posting a link to a photo of them doesn't mean that AlSal wore them in the Olympic marathon, stupid chowd.

If Walt Chadwick were still on here, he can easily tell us. I think he made many of the shoes for the elites in '84. I know he incorporated some thoughts I had for one of my athletes at the time. I too am pretty sure they were a version of the American Eagle.

Double checking the photos, while clearly wore the Eagles in the trials for those Olympics

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/81472567/Sports-Illustrated

... in the actual Olympic marathon, it does look as if he had switched to different shoes. Whatever these are, they don't have the blue part in the front.

http://z.about.com/d/trackandfield/1/0/q/5/-/-/salaz.jpg

They were the Air Edge.

Track Fan wrote:

They were the Air Edge.

ding ding ding !!! we have a winner they are the 1984 road racer the air edge with the blue and red swoosh

RayL wrote:

If Walt Chadwick were still on here, he can easily tell us. I think he made many of the shoes for the elites in '84. I know he incorporated some thoughts I had for one of my athletes at the time. I too am pretty sure they were a version of the American Eagle.

Well, Ray, Joe taught Walt almost all he knows about shoemaking. The information I wrote is as accurate as I remember it and I worked in Exeter.

Although some of the Letsrun are certain they know what Alberto was wearing in the pictures posted I also know those shoes were customized to look like shoes in the product line. At times there was some friction at times between Promotions Department and the people responsible for making shoes. Shoemakers tried to do what the athletes directly requested often improving shoes in the line. What may have looked like an American Eagle occasionally wasn't.

I saw Alberto's shoes when they were made for years. They were often different. His shoe in LA was unique. I know hat for a fact. So was Charlie Spedding's.

Where did Walter Chadwick go ?

Please tell me wrote:

Where did Walter Chadwick go ?

To a far better place.

CUSTOM MADE, CUSTOM MADE, CUSTOM MADE, as were Bill Rodger's shoes and I literally have a letter stating so because a semi-moronic running friend refused to believe me. He insisted that Bill wore the exact shoe that you and I bought off the shelf.

Coincidentally, I was at the Trials in Buffalo and snapped a photo of Alberto in full stride within 2 seconds of the finish line after Pete had passed him. It was absolutely the best photo I ever took in my entire life, from family to friends to racing and yes, it was a lucky shot with a piece of crap camera. I am not a pro photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but the camera God's were with me that day. I always wanted to post it, but was told I would lose the rights to it and not be able to protect it. I did send one 2 to Alberto at Nike. One for him to keep and one to send back signed. How I got to run up between the CMP without being tackled is a story in and of itself.

Post it with a nasty watermark that PS cannot sufficiently remove. That way we can at least see what you mean.