On, the Swiss running shoe start-up, announced a sponsorship deal with teamTBB, the premiere triathlon team. The sponsorship comes as several of its leading athletes have been winning races in the high-tech shoes.
The patented CloudTec system has been developed by On Co-Founder Olivier Bernhard together with Swiss engineers and biomechanics. His 15-year career as a an elite athlete was highlighted by six Ironman wins, three duathlon world championship titles and the third-fastest Hawaii Ironman running split ever (2:41). On embodies the mission “From athletes for athletes”.
teamTBB’s Caroline Steffen (SUI), David Dellow (AUS) and Daniel Halksworth (UK) have already flown to Ironman victories in their On shoes. Steffen has dominated the field this year winning the ITU Long Distance World Championships, the Asia-Pacific and the European Ironman Championships, Dellow defeated a world-class field at Ironman Cairns and Halksworth took glory in his Ons on home-turf at Ironman UK. At the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships, Steffen improved her personal marathon record by 5 minutes and came only 50 seconds short of the Ironman World Record. James Cunnama (SA), Stephen and Bella Bayliss (UK) have trained and reached new personal bests in the On.
These wins are the result of improvements in their running, largely attributed to the radically new running shoes by the Swiss start-up On. Coach Brett Sutton has seen both go from strength to strength in their running. Having followed On from its early days, Sutton is now convinced by the On shoes and wants all his athletes to train and race in them. Under the partnership, all teamTBB pro and scholarship athletes will be training and racing in On’s innovative running shoes.
Brett Sutton says, “I was struck by the simplicity of the On’s construction and by its function when I first tested prototypes of the shoe a few years ago. It was no surprise for me to see Caroline and Daniel improve their run within a short period of time. I want all my athletes to be given the edge by running in these shoes. The On is bringing innovation to the sport and I am convinced they are the future of running.”
Olivier Bernhard says, “teamTBB is the strongest and most professionally structured triathlon team in the world. Being chosen by teamTBB proves the value of our shoe innovation. Many teamTBB members are strong role models in their communities and I am excited to be working with them.”
The three year global partnership is announced leading up to the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii and officially begins on January 1st, 2013. However, most teamTBB athletes are already racing in the shoes. Steffen and Dellow will be racing in the On Cloudracer competition model in the World Championships on October 13th, 2012.
