Running News Daily

Why Hellen Obiri is poised to win her first Olympic gold medal

Hellen Obiri has a high chance of winning the coveted Olympic gold medal in the marathon following recent developments in her preparations for the Olympics.

Hellen Obiri has every chance to claim the women’s marathon title at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, thanks to the latest shoes by her sponsor, On running.

The shoes, set to start retailing on the eve of the Olympic Games will be a major boost for her to impress on the Olympic stage.

The two-time Olympic Games 5000m silver medalist has made it clear that she will be going for the only accolade missing in her trophy-laden cabinet, the Olympic gold medal.

As reported by the New York Times, the 2023 New York City Marathon champion will be wearing the Cloudboom Strike LS, the new sneakers from On.

When Obiri first saw the shoes, she never thought she would fall in love with them but after Boston Marathon win earlier this year, she definitely is not returning them.

“The first time I saw the shoes, I said, ‘No,I can’t run with these.’ The shoes had no laces. They had no heel cap, and a hard plate at the back to keep my foot in place. They were made of a weird, stretchy, plastic-y material,” Obiri said.

She added: “In the changing room, even my colleagues were saying, ‘It’s a joke.’ They were saying, ‘You can’t use these shoes for a marathon.’”

Obiri also noted that having comfortable shoes for the Olympics will certainly help her have a strong winning mindset. “When you trust the shoes, you have that mentality, like, ‘I’m going to run fast,’” she said.

The director of innovation, technology and research for On, Nils Altrogge noted that after Obiri’s win at the Boston Marathon and after training with the shoes for some time, she did not give them back.

Meanwhile, the shoe that will surprise many on the Olympic stage was created from a single semi-translucent synthetic monofilament that was extruded by a robot arm. They were made to help athletes run in the most effective way and are heat-fused to a foam rubber and carbon-fiber sole.

On insist that the shoe weighs 170 grams and has 75 percent less impact on the environment than a traditional sneaker.

“In the end, you need to believe that this look will be adopted. If it is, we believe it could change the industry,” said Marc Maurer, chief executive of On.