Is this the craziest sneaker you have ever seen?

Swiss sneaker maker On is hoping the Cloudboom Strike LS will have the same disruptive effect on the sneaker market that Elon Musk’s innovation had on the car world.

A photo provided by the Swiss sneaker brand On shows an upper for the one-piece Cloudboom Strike LS as it is created in a single step using an automated robotic arm at the On labs in Zurich. On and Hellen Obiri are taking the running-shoe game to a whole new level. NYT

Vanessa Friedman

Jul 28, 2024 – 5.00am

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As soon as Hellen Obiri, the Kenyan distance runner and two-time Olympic silver medalist, takes her place on the starting line of the Olympic marathon in Paris, she will make history — though not for the reason you may assume.

For her shoes. See, Obiri will be wearing the Cloudboom Strike LS, a new sneaker from On, the upstart Swiss brand founded in 2010. But it doesn’t look like any sneaker anyone has ever seen.