INLINE SPEED SKATING
Until 1992 skating races were practiced using roller skates, but in the World Speed Skating Championships of Rome in
1992, traditional roller-skates have been abandoned and competitions were played with inline skates.
743: First appearance of roller skates on a stage during a performance in London. The inventor of these shoes
has been lost in history.
1760: Invention of roller by John Joseph Merlin, that realization of the in-line skates with the wheels in metal.
1819: First patented project of a roller skate (but not very maneuverable), in France by M. Petitbled.
1863: Skate with four wheels arranged in pairs, was first created in New York by James Leonard Plimpton.
The shoe is supported on a pivot system that used a rubber bearing, which allowed the skater to bend simply by
leaning to one side. It was a huge success, that leads to the opening of the first ice rink in 1866 in Newport,
Rhode Island with the help of Plimpton. The design of the quad-skate allowed curves easier and better
maneuverability, but imposes as dominating the market for more than a century.
1876: William Brown in Birmingham in England patented his project for the wheels. His efforts were directed toward
making independent pairs of wheels from the axis that joined. Brown worked closely with Joseph Henry Hughes, the
patent holder of bikes' ball bearings. These two men are therefore the creators of modern wheels skating and
skateboarding.
1876: The patented brake pad. This enabled to stop quickly by simply pressing the tip of the shoe against the
asphalt.
1880: The shoes were mass-produced in America. It was the first of many booming sport.
1884 Levant M Richardson patented the use of steel ball bearings to reduce friction, allowing to reach higher
speeds with less effort.
1979: Scott Olson and Brennan Olson of Minneapolis, Minnesota found a pair of inline skates created in the '60
by the Chicago Roller Skate Company and, sensing the potential to train hockey without the ice, redesigned shoes
using modern materials and a hockey shoe. A couple of years later Scott Olson began to advertise shoes and gave
birth to the company Rollerblade Inc.
In the late eighties and early nineties, Rollerblade skates proved so well able to inspire other brands to create
similar models and inline skating became more popular than the traditional one.
During the initial period the shoe was normally rigid plastic, similar to ski boots. By 1995 the soft shoe made its
appearance, and helped to promote the use of the shoe as a tool for fitness. In the early 2000s the use of the rigid
shoe was relegated to disciplines more details, such as aggressive or freestyle.
