TWENTY years after the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, isn't it time for shoe lovers to consider staging our very own Sole' Olympics?
Organisers of London 2012 are scouring for new and offbeat sporting passions to grace the Olympic calendar when the games come to England for the first time since 1948.
And, given the focus on footwear during the historic Beijing games, shoe buying has it all widespread popular interest; celebrity involvement; and a compelling obsession that even the most dedicated athlete would be hard pushed to match.
As many as 2.5 million British women own at least 30 pairs of shoes - one for every day of the month. A new study claims the female fascination with the shoe is growing more rapidly in this country than anywhere else in Europe . Researchers have put the cost of this national shoe-fetish at 31,680 to cover the purchase price for all the pairs bought by a woman over a lifetime with a blend of style, comfort and value-for-money proving the winning combination.
It's got it all for the TV gurus who call the shots a programme that has all the appeal of mixing Trinny and Susannah with Match Of The Day. It could be the next big sporting jewel, knocking 20-20 cricket very firmly into the long grass.
"Sport for all" the Government trills at every opportunity well here's its chance to prove it.
We've seen some amazing and one-off sports at Olympics from a bygone age - a long jump event for horses (1900); live pigeon shooting (1900); 100 metres swimming for sailors (1896), pistol duelling (1906) and one-handed weightlifting (1896) Compared to these, who can say that shoe-buying is any less of an attraction!
The UK 's most successful swimmer in modern history, Rebecca Adlington, started the Olympic focus on footwear by asking for a pair of designer shoes as her reward for winning two gold medals in the pool.
And sprinter Usain Bolt laid claim to the fastest feet in history by streaking away to record-breaking wins in the 100m and 200m spurred on by his wonder shoes', even though the laces became undone near the line!
And who can forget the preoccupation with former Olympian hero Ian Thorpe's feet? The Australian swimmer nicknamed Thorpedo - has a shoe size of 17!
Now the time has come to capture this national obsession and turn shoe buying into an Olympic sport.
And there would be no shortage of gold medal contenders including many celebrities who would be guaranteed to pull in the TV millions.
Let's look at some of the front-runners:
Singer Celine Dion would be among the favourites her wardrobe is creaking wit a collection of more than 3,000 shoes. The 'My Heart Will Go On' singer confessed she just can't stop buying footwear whenever she hits the shops.
Hollywood star Cameron Diaz has proved she's just like any other normal woman - she has an obsession with shoes. The 34-year-old actress - who played shoe-lover Maggie Feller in 2005 movie In Her Shoes - loves footwear so much, she owns pairs in practically every colour and style. She says: "I own shoes in every shape and colour available - pointy toe, round toe, open toe, high heel, low heel - I've got them all."
Christina Aguilera needs a ladder on wheels to reach her huge shoe collection. She said: "I have loads of wig-heads for hats and a shoe-wall filled from floor to ceiling. It even has a ladder on wheels, a bit like an old library, so I can scoot along and get what I want quickly."
The young British actress Keira Knightley admits to being 'obsessed with shoes'. She has told of splashing out thousands of pounds on shoes that are the wrong size just because she loves to look at them in their boxes. She says: "I see a pair of shoes I adore, and it doesn't matter if they have them in my size. I buy them anyway," she told one interviewer. "I have shoes I've never taken out of the box. I even have shoes that don't fit."
And if you are looking for someone to mature as a contender in 2012, then how about Princess Tiaamii baby daughter of Katie Price, the model better known as Jordan . She has over 100 pairs and cannot even walk yet!
Olympic feet or Olympic feat show buying has it all. Roll on 2012!
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