Madison George ’23 featured in Women’s Running for pole-vaulting shoe prototype

Women's Running Magazine featured Honors Fellow and student-athlete Madison George '23 in a recent profile of the Elon pole vaulter's attempt to create the first women's pole-vaulting shoe.

Honors Fellow and Elon student-athlete Madison George’s efforts to design and prototype the first-ever women’s pole-vaulting shoe recently caught the attention of Women’s Running Magazine.

Women’s Running featured the sophomore pole vaulter and engineering major in the article “Her shoes are made for (women’s) vaulting,” which focused on the method and motivation for George’s research.

Related Articles

“I thought that it was pretty ridiculous that women don’t have easy access to sport-specific shoes, and that got me thinking about how sport-specific shoes are all unisex sizing,” George told Women’s Running.

The article highlighted George’s attempt to create custom-made shoes based on the arch and foot shape of individual athletes and the research done to create the shoe prototype.

The piece also highlights Elon’s Maker Hub, where George won a Maker Hub Kickbox grant to design the pole-vaulting shoe. Additionally, George’s faculty mentors Associate Professor of Engineering Scott Wolter and Associate Professor of Physics Kyle Altmann were both quoted in the article.

Read the entire Women’s Running article here.