The Swiss performance brand On announced this week the launch of its first professional sprint team, a Los Angeles-based squad called OAC Sprint. The move marks a significant shift for a company best known among runners for road shoes and its CloudTec cushioning system.
The team was unveiled in Zurich on May 21 and extends On’s existing On Athletics Club, the distance-running program that has produced world champions and Olympic medalists, including two-time NYC Marathon winner Hellen Obiri. With OAC Sprint, On is applying the same group-training model to the 100m, 200m and hurdles.
The squad will be coached by John Bolton, who most recently worked as assistant sprints coach at the University of Southern California. Bolton has guided athletes to Olympic podiums and to multiple World Championship finals. He will be supported by Harrison Smith, a sport scientist who will handle strength and conditioning.
“Sprinting is the ultimate expression of human potential, and with the OAC Sprint team, we are pouring our belief into that pursuit,” said On founder Olivier Bernhard in a statement. “Our dream goes far beyond the podium. By applying our proven OAC philosophy, we believe that the right team and community can not only compete for medals, but also inspire a new generation and help shape the culture of the sport for years to come.”
Why Los Angeles
The choice of base is deliberate. Los Angeles will host track and field events at the 2028 Summer Olympics, and the greater Los Angeles area has long been a training hub for American sprinters. On described the city as a global hub of sport and culture in its announcement, and the timing of the launch positions OAC Sprint to build toward a home Olympics over the next two years.
The team’s training base puts it in proximity to USC, where Bolton previously coached, and to a deep pool of professional and collegiate sprint talent already working in Southern California.
The Founding Roster
The anchor of the squad is Ghanaian sprinter Benjamin Azamati, a two-time Olympian who has competed at the Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 Games and at three World Championships. He owns a 100m personal best of 9.90 seconds and is a two-time African Games medalist in the 4x100m relay. Azamati is reuniting with Bolton, who has coached him previously.
Three Americans round out the founding group. Samirah Moody, the 2025 NCAA outdoor 100m champion, brings a personal best of 10.93 seconds in the 100m and 22.50 in the 200m. Max Thomas, the 2025 NCAA 100m runner-up, has run 9.90 in the 100m and 19.98 in the 200m. Johnny Brackins, a six-time NCAA All-American in hurdles and long jump, will run the 110m and 400m hurdles. His 400m hurdles best stands at 49.04 seconds, and he won bronze in the long jump at the World U20 Championships.
“I’m incredibly excited to be a part of building something truly different with OAC Sprint,” Bolton said. “We have brought together a group of exceptional founding athletes who not only have world-class potential, but also share a desire to build a team culture with a real purpose. This is the foundation. Our mission is to win on the biggest stages while creating a team environment that inspires the next generation. This is a vision we are committed to building on for years to come.”
A Distance Brand Tests New Ground
For runners familiar with On, the brand is most associated with road racing shoes and its CloudTec midsole, used in models like the Cloudboom Strike worn by Hellen Obiri. On was founded in the Swiss Alps in 2010 and now sells in more than 80 countries. Its existing OAC distance program has produced athletes who have collected world titles and Olympic medals on the track and in road events.
The move into sprinting puts On in direct competition with Nike, Adidas and Puma, all of which sponsor major sprint stars and have long histories in the discipline. Sprinting also carries higher cultural visibility than middle and long-distance events, particularly in Olympic years, and tends to attract a younger and more diverse fan base.
For recreational runners, the launch may also signal more On product development around speed. The brand’s CloudTec technology and racing shoes have so far been built for distance, but a sprint team typically drives insights that flow into training shoes and track spikes.
On did not disclose the financial terms of the athlete contracts or the team’s operating budget. The brand said the OAC Sprint roster will compete on the global circuit with the goal of medaling at major championships and inspiring the next generation of athletes.
The team is expected to debut at international meets in the coming season, with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics as the long-term target.
0 Comments