MUSEUM OF SPORT SHOES
UNIQUE • SIGNED • SPORT SHOES
The Museum of Sport Shoes is the heritage of the Jumping Gala events organized between 1987 and 2010. The unique collection is based on those signed sport shoes, which were worn by world-famous stars of the prestigious international high jump and pole vault events, held originally at the main square of Salgótarján and then – from 1999 – by the picturesque Castle of Somoskő.
The very first pair of shoes were given to János Angyal, Meeting Director of the competition by Charles Austin, Olympic Champion of the Atlanta Olympic Games. By doing that, Austin wanted to express his gratitude for being presented with the chance to meet Michael Jackson who had a concert in Budapest right at the time of the Jumping Gala in 1996.
This gesture of Austin was then repeated by several remarkable athletes, such as Sergey Bubka, Javier Sotomayor, Maxim Tarasov, Yelena Isinbaeva, Blanka Vlasic, and Stefka Kostadinova.
Aside the unique collection of sport shoes, the Museum includes further special relics: a T-shirt signed by Michael Jackson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the authentic replica of the Olympic gold medal won by Alfréd Hajós (Hungary’s very first Olympic gold medal), and the cigar of Fidel Castro which also offers an amazing story.
IN NUMBERS
OLYMPICS • WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS • WORLD RECORDS
The distinguished relics in the Museum of Sport Shoes come from athletes with incredible careers. Altogether they won:
SPORT SHOES
CITIUS • ALTIUS • FORTIUS
Usain Bolt, Sergey Bubka, Maxim Tarasov, Javier Sotomayor, Charles Austin, Stefan Holm, Yelena Isinbaeva, Blanka Vlasic, Stefka Kostadinova, Dóra Győrffy, and many more – the list of athletes whose shoes can be found in the Museum is rather long. Learn about their amazing stories.
SPORT RELICS
SPECIAL • ICONIC • POP
The cigar of Fidel Castro, the exclusive Vostok watch of Sergey Bubka, the authentic replica of the Olympic gold medal of Alfréd Hajós – exceptional relics and high jump crossbars used at the Jumping Galas make the collection of the Museum complete.
Can you spot the signature of Michael Jackson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the T-shirt?
THEN AND NOW
MORE MODERN • MORE COMFORTABLE • MORE COLOURFUL
The spike shoes went through a lot of change and innovation by the time the shoes for running, long jump, high jump, pole vault, or other alterations reached their version used today.
The criteria for spike shoes used at competitions is detailed in and set by the Book of Rules of World Athletics (formerly IAAF). The number of spikes on the sole – including the part beneath the heel – can be maximum 11, while the length of the spikes projecting from the sole or the heel cannot exceed 9 millimetres, except in high jump where the limit is 12 millimetres.
According to the rule, the sole and the heel can have grooves, ridges, indentations, or protuberances as long as they are made from the same or similar material to the sole. The maximum thickness of the sole of shoes used in high jump and long jump is 13 millimetres, however, the thickness of the heel in high jump cannot exceed 19 millimetres.
The two pictures below perfectly illustrate how high jump shoes have changed over the years. The shoe on the left is the catapult shoe of János Angyal from the 1960s, and the shoe on the right is the shoe of Olympic and World Champion Javier Sotomayor from 2001.
