Jordan Armstrong, Age 12 from Las Cruces, NM Wins 39th Odor-Eaters® National Rotten Sneaker Contest® In Its New York City Debut

NEW YORK, March 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hold your nose.  This story stinks…literally! New York is used to its fair share of interesting smells, but for the first time ever, the city had the odorous honor of hosting the Annual Odor-Eaters National Rotten Sneaker Contest, a competition that tests just how offensive sneakers can get.  Ready to be judged were seven finalists, ages five to fourteen, from across the nation.  They gathered at Ripley's Believe It or Not! in Times Square today wearing the decrepit and redolent rubber-soles that won them regional recognition.  Only one competitor's sneakers were declared the stinkiest, and they belonged to 12 year old Jordan Armstrong from White Sands Missile Range, Las Cruces, NM.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/65107-odor-eaters-39th-national-rotten-sneaker-contest-new-york-city-winner 

In its 39th year, the Odor-Eaters® Rotten Sneaker Contest® is the ultimate test of just how dirty and stinky sneakers can get when they're part of an active kid's life…playing outdoors, splashing through puddles, slogging through mud and more. Sneakers are judged on the interior and exterior conditions of the shoe, and most importantly odor, by a panel that includes NASA "Master Sniffer" George Aldrich, Chemical Specialist for NASA space missions, Rachel Herz, Ph.D., an expert and author on the psychology of smell, Claudio Schapsis, Marketing Director and Chief Experience Officer of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Times Square, and Buck Wolf, Executive Editor at the Huffington Post.

What meets the criteria for the nastiest, most repellent sneaks in the nation? According to one judge, Dr. Herz, a smell expert from Brown University, "It's not enough that the sneakers repel me.  They should make me feel faint, or wish I had a clothespin or a gas mask nearby.  That's the kind of stink that takes home the gold."

This year, Jordan Armstrong was the grand prize winner of $2,500, out-stinking other contestants from Wasilla, AK; Hickory Hills, IL; Burton, MI; Holden, UT; Lilburn, GA and Bristol, CT.  The Champion confessed that her sneakers got dirty and smelly because she never takes them off – she's worn them for the past two years to school, to the park, playing sports and even to bed!

She also received an additional two-night stay in New York City, tickets to the Broadway Show THE LION KING, the Golden Sneaker Award, and a supply of Odor-Eaters products to kick out the odor from her new sneakers.  Jordan's rotten sneakers will also be enshrined in the Odor-Eaters "Hall of Fumes".

The contest began 39 years ago as a promotion created by a Montpelier, Vermont sporting goods owner who wanted to advertise a new line of athletic shoes.  At the Montpelier Department of Recreation, he discovered a photogenic pair of superbly rotten sneakers that would look great in the store ad.  The recreation director seized the moment and created a new contest -- the search for the best rotten sneakers!  In 1988, the maker of Odor-Eaters products caught a "whiff" of this grand event, and became the official sponsor.  Odor-Eaters manufactures a full line of products including insoles, sprays and powders.  Each product provides superior wetness protection and now contains 30% more odor-fighters for better foot odor control.

Although the maker of Odor-Eaters products sponsors the contest, it's clear that the contestants keep the product far from the rotten sneakers they submitted for judging. 

For more information about the Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest or Odor-Eaters products, visit www.odor-eaters.com.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/65107-odor-eaters-39th-national-rotten-sneaker-contest-new-york-city-winner

SOURCE Odor Eaters