Kiplimo leans on Galaxy Watch
Elite runner Jacob Kiplimo says he’s using Samsung Health data from a Galaxy Watch8 to fine‑tune training for the London Marathon, treating the wearable as a performance tool rather than a gimmick. (samsungmobilepress.com) The write‑up highlights that the watch helps him track and optimize specific performance metrics — a concrete example of how pros turn everyday devices into training-edge data. (samsungmobilepress.com)
Jacob Kiplimo is not treating a smartwatch like a step counter. In Samsung’s April 10, 2026 write-up, the 25-year-old Ugandan says he is using Samsung Health data from a Galaxy Watch8 to shape training for the London Marathon, including recovery and running form. (samsungmobilepress.com) That matters because Kiplimo is not a social-media fitness influencer testing gadgets for fun. World Athletics lists him as the men’s road running world No. 1, and his profile includes a 2:02:23 marathon best and a 56:42 half marathon mark from February 16, 2025. (worldathletics.org) He has gone even faster since then. World Athletics reported that Kiplimo ran 57:20 at the Lisbon Half Marathon on March 8, 2026, a world record that cut 10 seconds from the previous best. (worldathletics.org) The race he is aiming at now is not a tune-up event. London Marathon Events says Kiplimo is in the 2026 elite men’s field alongside defending champion Sabastian Sawe, and its start list shows Kiplimo entered with a 2:02:23 personal best. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 1) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 2) What the watch is doing is simple in concept. A wrist wearable turns each run into a stream of numbers like heart rate and pace, and Kiplimo told Samsung he also watches running asymmetry, which is a measure of whether one side of the body is working differently from the other. (samsungmobilepress.com) That kind of metric is useful because marathon training is usually lost in small mistakes, not dramatic collapses. If heart rate climbs too high at a familiar pace, or if asymmetry shifts after a hard session, the signal is that the body may need more recovery before the next big workout. (samsungmobilepress.com) Samsung has been building this story around actual races, not just training clips. In an earlier company release about the Chicago Marathon in October 2025, Samsung said Kiplimo used Galaxy Watch8 features such as Running Coach and Bedtime Guidance in preparation for the win. (samsungmobilepress.com) The interesting shift is not that a pro athlete wears a device. It is that Kiplimo is describing an everyday consumer watch as a tool for decisions at the level of world records, marathon pacing, and recovery timing, which is a much higher bar than counting calories or closing rings. (samsungmobilepress.com)
