The Complete Guide To Olympic Sneakers

Improvements in athletic footwear have led to shoes that help athletes run faster and jump higher. They also look cool.

1. Andy Roddick - Tennis, United States

Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

2. Jessica Ennis - Heptathlon, Great Britain

KAI PFAFFENBACH / Reuters

Right before the high jump.

3. Kevin Love - Basketball, United States

Jamie Squire / Getty Images

4. Ana Dulce Felix - Marathon, Portugal

Streeter Lecka / Getty Images

5. Christine Sinclair - Soccer, Canada

Stanley Chou / Getty Images

6. Yasuhiro Suzuki - Boxing, Japan

MURAD SEZER / Reuters

7. Jose Espinoza Mena - Venezuela, Boxing

MURAD SEZER / Reuters

8. Lebron James - Basketball, United States

Jamie Squire / Getty Images

9. Yelena Isinbayeva - Pole Vault, Russia

David J. Phillip / AP

10. Alberta Boatema Ampomah - Weightlfting, Ghana

YURI CORTEZ / Getty Images

11. Justyn Warner - Running, Canada

LUCY NICHOLSON / Reuters

12. Kellie Wells - Hurdles, United States

DYLAN MARTINEZ / Reuters

13. Usain Bolt - Running, Jamaica

PHIL NOBLE / Reuters

Bolt won the 100m race in these shoes, setting an Olympic record.

14. Lisa Norden - Triathlon, Sweden

TIM WIMBORNE / Reuters

At the end of the running portion of the triathlon, sneakers are left behind.

15. Yohan Blake - Runner, Jamaica

Alex Grimm / Getty Images

16. Brigitte Foster-Hylton - Hurdles, Jamaica

Stu Forster / Getty Images

17. Jack Green - Hurdles, Great Britain

DYLAN MARTINEZ / Reuters

Two different colors.

18. Men's Basketball Team - Australia

TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty Images

19. Seun Adigun - Hurdles, Nigeria

Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images

20. Official - Beach Volleyball

Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

Referees get cool shoes too.

21. Unidentified - Handball, Iceland

MARKO DJURICA / Reuters

Unclear why the guy in the background is missing a shoe.

22. Natalya Antyukh - Hurdles, Russia

Matt Slocum / AP

23. Tyson Gay - Running, United States

Martin Meissner / AP

Gay has beat Usain Bolt in the 100m before, but he's never won a gold medal. He turns 30 on August 9.

24. Robbie Grabarz - High Jump, Great Britain

Alex Grimm / Getty Images

25. Jessica Ennis - Heptathlon, Great Britain

David J. Phillip / AP

26. Tristan Thomas - Hurdles, Australia

Michael Steele / Getty Images

27. Olumide Oyedeji - Basketball, Nigeria

Charles Krupa / AP

The note is a get well message for teammate Tony Skinn, who was injured in an earlier game against Argentina.

28. Sue Bird - Basketball, United States

Christian Petersen / Getty Images

29. Unidentified - Field Hockey, Netherlands

SERGIO MORAES / Reuters

30. Lindsay Whalen - Basketball, United States and Yanyan Ji - Basketball, China

Christian Petersen / Getty Images

31. Hanna Melnychenko - Heptathlon, Ukraine

PAWEL KOPCZYNSKI / Reuters

32. Lashinda Demus - Hurdles, United States

EDDIE KEOGH / Reuters

33. Nicola Spirig - Triathlon, Switzerland

FABRICE COFFRINI / Getty Images

She won the gold.

34. Celine Dumerc - Basketball, France and Natalie Achonwa - Basketball, Brazil

Eric Gay / AP

35. Tamara Tatham - Basketball, United States

Christian Petersen / Getty Images