ASICS America - Running Footwear, Apparel, and Accessories

ASICS Receives Top Honors From Runner's World At The 2009 International Shoe Summit

Irvine, CA (November 4, 2009) - ASICS® America Corporation is proud to announce that the GEL-Kayano® 15 received the International "Shoe of the Year" award from Runner's World magazine during a special ceremony at the magazine's 2009 International Shoe Summit. This is the second consecutive year that the GEL-Kayano series has been awarded the top honor, and the fourth time in five years that ASICS has won the International Editor's Choice award since the award's inception.

Along with this distinguished honor, ASICS also received two additional awards from Runner's World, which will be featured in the Winter Shoe Guide (December 2009 issue) on newsstands in the U.S. this week. The ASICS GT-2150™ accepted the acclaimed "Editor's Choice" award and the GEL-1150™ took the "Best Buy" award. These two styles were compared against 15 distinguished pairs of shoes from other leading brands that were tested and reviewed by Runner's World.

"It is always an honor to be recognized internationally by Runner's World the leading authority when it comes to critiquing our product, and we are humbled that they have selected ASICS again," exclaims Jim Monahan, ASICS VP of Footwear.

Runner's World magazine, the worldwide authority on running information, awards one distinguished shoe style each year the prestigious International Editor's Choice or "Shoe of the Year" award. The publication noted that the GEL-Kayano 15 won top honors from global wear testers. The shoe was selected by a panel of International Runner's World editors from the 15 countries in which the magazine is published (Australia/New Zealand, Brazil, Columbia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands/Belgium, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States).

ASICS GEL-Kayano 15 will be updated in January 2010 with the GEL-Kayano® 16 retailing for $140.00. The GT-2150 is available now at specialty running retailers for $95.00 and the GEL-1150 is also at specialty running shops for $85.00. Both the GT-2150 and GEL-1150 will be widely available on January 1, 2010.

ASICS Corporation, with more than 60 years of footwear manufacturing experience, offers a full line of performance-driven athletic shoes and technical active sports apparel and accessories. For more information, please visit www.asics.com.