Will these spray-on sneakers crafted by a robot arm become an Olympic star?

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 in Zurich. Photo: The New York Times

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 next month, she will make history – though not for the reason you may assume, for her shoes instead.

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