Garmin Forerunner 255 leads London Marathon winners’ watch choices

The 2026 London Marathon delivered some extraordinary performances, including Sabastian Sawe’s historic sub two-hour 1:59:30 and Tigst Assefa’s 2:15:41 women-only world record. It also gave us a surprisingly clear look at what the fastest runners in the world actually choose to wear on race day, and the answer is not expensive flagship watches.

Instead of premium titanium models packed with smartwatch extras, most of the top finishers showed up with lightweight, practical training watches built for one job: running well. Garmin’s Forerunner 255 appeared on both men’s and women’s winners, while COROS and even Samsung also made the list.

Garmin’s Forerunner 255 steals the spotlight

The biggest takeaway is probably the dominance of the Garmin Forerunner 255. Both Sabastian Sawe and Tigst Assefa were spotted wearing the watch during their record-breaking runs, which says a lot considering Garmin has much newer and much more expensive models available.

The Forerunner 255 skips the AMOLED display and premium materials you get on higher-end devices like the Forerunner 965 or Fenix line. What it offers instead is low weight, excellent GPS accuracy, strong battery life and reliable training tools, which is exactly what matters during a marathon.

For elite runners, comfort matters more than luxury. A lighter watch is easier to forget about over 42.2 kilometres, especially when every gram starts to count late in the race.

That is probably why the Forerunner 255 continues to show up on professional athletes even though it sits comfortably below Garmin’s flagship tier. It does the core job extremely well, and for racing, that is often enough.

COROS continues its elite running push

COROS also had a strong showing. Yomif Kejelcha, who finished in 1:59:41, was seen wearing the Pace 3, while Hellen Obiri wore the Pace 4 during her 2:15:53 finish.

This fits with COROS’s strategy over the past few years. The company has focused heavily on performance runners rather than general smartwatch buyers, and its Pace series reflects that. These watches are light, simple and built around training metrics instead of lifestyle features.

The Pace line has developed a strong following among serious runners because it offers a lot without unnecessary extras. London Marathon results like this only strengthen that image.

The Samsung surprise

The most unexpected watch in the group was probably Jacob Kiplimo’s Samsung Watch 8. Seeing a Galaxy Watch on the wrist of a runner producing a 2:00:28 marathon is not something most people would have predicted.

Samsung watches are usually seen as smartwatches first and sports watches second. They handle notifications, apps and daily lifestyle features very well, but they are not the first choice most marathon purists think of.

That makes Kiplimo’s choice interesting. It could be linked to sponsorship, personal preference or simply the fact that the latest Galaxy Watch models have become much stronger fitness devices than people give them credit for. Either way, it stands out in a field dominated by dedicated running brands.

What elite runners actually care about

One thing is very clear from this lineup. There were no bulky adventure watches, no ultra-premium titanium showpieces and no devices chosen mainly for smartwatch appeal.

Instead, the focus stayed on watches that disappear on the wrist. Reliable GPS, stable heart rate data, long battery life and low weight matter far more than bright displays or premium finishes.

Joyciline Jepkosgei’s Garmin Forerunner 955 fits that same pattern. It offers more advanced training tools than the 255, but it is still built first and foremost for performance.

That is probably the best lesson from this year’s London Marathon. The world’s fastest runners are not necessarily choosing the most expensive watches. They are choosing the ones they trust when everything depends on the next step.

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