Nike Volt - The Neon Olympic Shoes

Did you notice them at the London Olympics?

Without being an official sponsor, Nike's Volt Neon Track and Field Shoe Collection brightened up the feet of many of the athletes the track and field events, tennis and even found their way onto the podium for the medal ceremonies and a very bright fashion trend.

I realized that a new trend was starting when we ran into a teenager proudly wearing her new pair of neon yellow shoes during the time of the Olympics.

Neon colors has been a fashion trend with my kids starting in the spring and continuing through this summer. Both of my daughters wanted bright neon yellow colored shoes as their summer fun shoes.

I didn't know at the time that this incandescent, fluorescent, neon trend would ultimately take the stage at the Olympics and will continue to inspire people to buy those bright Olympic shoes.

Read on to find out more about the Nike collection of volt track and field footwear and how they designed a shoe to get noticed and managed to create a stir and spark a fashion trend with these neon colored shoes. Be sure to vote how you would describe the color, "Volt."

Neon Yellow shoes are likely to be a favorite for some time, especially if runners and walkers feel that the shoes make them go faster and have a better performance. While you are here, check the Nike Find Your Greatness - Video to be inspired.

Hyleas Fountain, Women's Heptathlon 100m Hurdles from Steve Fair

Marathon: Nike Flyknit Racer, Nike Zoom Streak 4 and Nike Lunarspider R3

Distance: Nike Zoom Victory Elite, Nike Zoom Matumbo 2 and Nike Zoom Mamba 2

Nike Volt Collection from Nike

There have been many different ways to describe the color of "Volt."

Choose your favorite from the list below, or add your own in the comments, if you have a better name for this bright yellow-green, neon color.

Even though Adidas was the Official Team GB (Great Britain) Sponsor for the Olympics, the products that stood out the most and got noticed were the bright neon shoes from Nike as seen on the feet of Sanya Richards-Ross to the right.

People watching track and field events in particular couldn't help but notice the bright yellow-green shoes worn by not only U.S. athletes, but many athletes from other countries. A Nike Spokesperson commented that over 400 athletes were wearing Volt Nike footwear at the Olympic games, that's over 800 bright Volt shoes.

While the athletes were banned by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) from tweeting, blogging or posting pictures of their NIke shoes

on Instagrams, it didn't stop them from wearing their neon shoes, on the track, on the tennis courts and on the podium for many of the medal ceremonies.

Nike Spokesperson reported that 41 athletes had won Olympic medals wearing Volt, which ended up being 43% of the track and field winners.

Sanya Richards-Ross by Tab59

Volt was designed to be a eye-catching and attention grabbing color, which it is doing just that as evidenced by the Olympics. It has been part of Nike's footwear for several years.

Some call Volt a "bright yellow" color, others a "bright greenish yellow hue" but KeJuan Wilkins, Nike media relations director, described Nike's new signature color Volt as a "fluorescent green hue."

To me, the Volt color is more of a neon yellow-green or close to what some in the fashion world are calling "Electric Yellow" which looks like a bright yellow with a bit of green.

This neon color that is somewhere between a yellow and a green can be described as Bright Yellow, Neon Yellow, Electric Yellow, Fluorescent Yellow, Incandescent Yellow, Yellow-Green, Neon Green, Acid Green, Fluorescent Green or Incandescent Green.

Be sure to vote on how you describe the color "Volt."

Nike Zoom Streak 4 from Nike

NIke came out with a colorful and innovative design for their Volt Collection of Track and Field Wear released in 2012. The collection is separated into shoes for different types of field events: Sprints, Distance, Field and Marathon.

This collection innovative technology and designs were developed to "prepare athletes for their greatest performances." Volt shoes features technology like lightweight spikes on their Flywire, the lightest race spike with Zoom Victory Elite and the unique lightweight Flyknit wear used by marathon runners, with a precision fit.

The Volt Collection can be found at Nike.com many running stores and even some on eBay. Shoes with the Volt color can be found on Amazon. The neon colored shoes that I have found I have included below.

For more information see the Nike website.

Have you noticed the color of the shoes in the photographs on this page? Do you notice the shoes on the Men's 4x400m relay team or on the feet of Sanya Richards-Ross?

The color Volt was picked by Nike as one most visible colors to the eye. Nike spokesperson, Brian Strong, explained the science behind choosing the greenish yellow hue in the quote above.

Some marketing experts believe that the London Games will be remembered for the greenish-yellow hued shoes.

Men's 4x400m Relay by iamadonut

Whether there is a true physiological benefit or just a psychological ones, some Olympic athletes believe that bright shoe colors are cool, promote confidence and improve performance.

U.S. boxer Jose Ramirez believes that "If you look better and you feel good, you'll probably fight better." He wore bright yellow Nike boots in his two boxing bouts.

I know for myself, I feel lighter and maybe run a bit faster (at least initially) wearing brightly colored running shoes.

Even if all the shoes do is get you out and moving more because you like wearing the color, that's still a great benefit.

Women's Marathon Runner by mattk1979

Game spectators and marketing people alike could not help but notice the bright green Neon Volt Shoes being worn by so many of the competitors during the Olympic games. The neon yellow-green colored shoes may be one of the indelible images from the London Games.

Leslie Smolan who is the co-founder of a design and branding firm in New York remarked, "The shoes were one of the first things I noticed during the Games. I thought Nike's approach was absolutely brilliant. Nike managed to integrate themselves into the games -- the best way to show your product, not just talk about it."

Scott Martyn, a University of Windsor professor specializing in sport and Olympic history, noted that Nike really got a great bang for their buck with the Volt shoe. Considering that they were not one of the official Olympic sponsors, Martyn noted that, "You have to say that the (marketing) value for money is fantastic, that they've done exceedingly well given the relative investment and they've capitalized on it quite significantly."

KeJuan Wilkins, Nike's media relations director, revealed that the color choice was a way for Nike to make a bold statement on one of the biggest sport stages with their Olympic shoes. "That [neon volt] color is something that has become more of a signature to Nike. So even if you don't see the swoosh, you see a color like that, and there's such a connection to Nike that people identify it with us."

Keep Calm and Go for Gold Mug available on Amazon

Neon Nike Running Shoes

Neon Nike Shoes on eBay

Discover the design Nike's FlyKnit Trainer from Nike's CEO and Designer Mark Parker and Fragment Design Founder Hiroshi Fujiwara, a look at the Story of FlyKnit and a review by Bill Weir from ABC of Nike's new super light weight shoes.

Bright Neon Running Shoes for Men

Bright Neon Running Shoes for Women

Bright Neon Running Shoes for Kids

Other brands of yellow shoes for children.

Be inspired by Nathan in this ad from Nike. Remember that greatness is not beyond his reach, nor is it for any of us.

One very beneficial and healthy side effect of the London Olympics is that many people (including this author) have been inspired by the games to be taking up sports and being more active. This is part of the initial hope of the London Organizing Committee that the Olympics would be a catalyst that inspired people to lead more active lives.

A recent study published in the U.K. indicated that over five million more adults in Great Britain have been inspired to exercise or start exercising because of the Olympics.

Of the sports being started walking, swimming, running and going to the gym were among the top 5 activities being taken up by people in the U.K. Of these sports walking and running are among the easiest sports to start doing since all you need is a pair of shoes and a place to walk or run.

Running in the Park from morguefile

While it may be may not be realistic for all of us to become Olympic level athletes, we can be inspired by their dedication to their sport, to their diet and to their overall health.

Here are a few helpful tips that I can recommend both as a physician and a nutrition teacher that will help you get healthier.

1. Be active every day.

   To maintain weight adults need 150 to 300 minutes/ week. To lose weight over 300 minutes a week. Moving and being active every day makes it easier for the minutes to add up.

2. Maintain a healthy diet.

   Eating a balanced, nutrient-dense, healthy diet gives you all of the nutrition that you need to stay health.

3. Be Inspired.

   Relieve the 2012 London Olympics, be active for your kids, be inspired to live a long and active life, these can inspire you on those days you just don't feel like moving.

4. Watch Stress Levels.

   Stress can take it's toll on your health. Fortunately being active is one of the best stress relievers that is available.

5. Set a Goal.

   Like Olympics athletes, set a goal that you want to attain, like training to run in a race or bicycle ride, a weight loss goal or even a fitness goal. Set that goal and go for it.

6. Get Enough Sleep.

   Sleep is important to one's overall health. Lack of sleep is contributing to weight gain. To successfully lose weight, make sure you are getting enough sleep, usually 6 to 8 hours for most adults.

7. Find Your Greatness.

   Finding your greatness helps you in achieving your goal. It is your inner voice that encourages you to keep going, to keep moving, to keep trying.

Prior to having children I used to run as one of my main activities and major stress relievers. I used to wear the Nike Air Pegasus running shoes. I credit getting the Saucony Kinvara 2 Running Shoe with helping me get me back into running.

The Saucony Kinvara were recommended to me as a good bare-foot style runner in 2011. Since running in them, my back pain and my ankle pain have improved, making me a big believer in the benefits of barefoot running style shoes.

Saucony's Citron looks to be very close to Nike's Volt. I started with white, blue and citron color which was a fun color combination then I ordered the bright Purple and Citron shoes for the Fun Run we did at Disneyland earlier in 2012. I don't know if they helped me to run faster, but I loved the color combination and it when well with the Tinker Bell theme. I'd been looking at the Saucony Kinvara 2 Running Shoe in citron and green, but thought they were too bright. Soon after the Olympics ended, I went ahead and ordered the citron and green. Somehow the color did not seem nearly as bright after watching all of those bright Olympic yellow-green shoes.

Now that I've discovered Nike's Free Run Shoe in Olympic Volt, I may have to give their barefoot-style runner a try.

Yellow Nike Running Shoes available on Amazon and eBay.

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.