Amazfit Ambassador Ben Dhiman Claims Victory at the 2026 UTMB

Amazfit, a leading global smart wearable brand by Zepp Health (NYSE: ZEPP), is proud to celebrate Ben Dhiman’s achievement at the 2026 UTMB Mont-Blanc, earning first place and completing the UTMB with a time of 18 hours, 16 minutes, and 29 seconds. Dhiman posted the fastest finish time ever recorded at UTMB, becoming the first runner to break the 19-hour mark and just the second American man to claim the prestigious title.

UTMB stands at the forefront of trail running, bringing together the world’s top athletes and a global community of dedicated fans in the Mont-Blanc region each year. Renowned for its extraordinary demands, the race pushes competitors to their limits across approximately 174km of rugged alpine terrain, featuring nearly 9,900m of elevation gain and unpredictable mountain weather along the way.

This year’s race began under pressure well before the starting gun. Rainstorms and challenging weather over the Mont-Blanc massif pushed race organizers to delay the start by two hours for safety, adding another layer of difficulty for the 2,400 runners on the start line. Dhiman moved to the front of the field around the 40-kilometer mark — with more than 130 kilometers still ahead — and spent the rest of the race extending his lead rather than defending it: roughly 19 minutes ahead by Courmayeur (80 km), 22 minutes at Grand Col Ferret (104 km), 28 minutes at Champex-Lac (127 km), and more than 30 minutes clear by Vallorcine (155 km). He crossed the finish line back in Chamonix in 18:16:29, a race in which his Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra recorded 169.97 kilometers and 9,686 meters of elevation gain, at an average pace of 6:27 per kilometer, burning 9,911 calories over 145,998 steps.

“This one means a lot to me. I’ve had two DNFs here and finished second last year, so I really wanted to come back and put together a race I could be proud of,” said Ben Dhiman, Amazfit Ambassador and 2026 UTMB Champion. “I knew I’d done the work, and the biggest thing was just trusting that and not getting caught up in everything happening around me. The delayed start and the cold up high made it a tough day, but I felt good from pretty early on and just tried to keep running my race. To have Amazfit alongside me through all the training and then on race day made the whole experience even more special.”

Dhiman credited the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra with supporting his performance during the race. Built for trail runners tackling elevation, unpredictable terrain, and long hours on the move, the watch’s titanium construction, dual-frequency GPS, full-color topographic mapping, and up to 33 hours of battery life in trail running mode helped him monitor pace, elevation, altitude and performance throughout both training and race day.

In addition, Dhiman used the Amazfit Helio Armband, paired to his watch, to track real-time heart rate during the race as well as recovery, HRV, and sleep during the weeks leading up to the race.

Beyond Ben’s win, Amazfit athletes carried strong form into UTMB week this season. Fellow Amazfit ambassador Rod Farvard opened the year with a win at Trail 100 Andorra by UTMB, covering the 105-kilometer course in 13:32:35, while Amazfit athletes Ruth Croft and Martina Valmassoi each added multiple victories to their seasons. Croft claimed wins at Tarawera Ultra-Trail and the MaXi-Race, while Valmassoi topped the women’s field at both Trail 100 Andorra and the Monte Rosa WalserWaeg 100K this summer. Together, their performances reflect Amazfit’s support for athletes training and racing on the world’s most demanding trails.

Amazfit is committed to empowering athletes with the most advanced outdoor wearable technology. From August 24-29, Amazfit hosted the Amazfit HUB in Chamonix, a dedicated space for media, athletes, and industry leaders. Throughout race week, the HUB hosted athlete meet-and-greets and interviews, a special session with German alpinist Jost Kobusch, a live panel featuring Dhiman and Rod Farvard, and a range of recovery and social programming. A race-day activation also offered guests an immersive, up-close view of Amazfit athletes along the course. Amazfit executives were on hand throughout the week to share insights into the latest developments in sports wearable technology. The HUB reflects Amazfit’s growing investment in performance sport and its long-term commitment to creating products and programs built for athletes, by athletes.

Discover more about Ben’s journey to UTMB and his training with Amazfit by reading the full story on the Amazfit blog here.