Gabby Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist sprinter at the Paris Games, has signed a four-year agreement with Amazfit to be an ambassador for its sports wearables through LA28.
Owned by NYSE-listed Zepp Health, Amazfit makes a dozen models of smartwatches — Thomas typically wears the Active 2 or Cheetah Pro — as well as the Helio Ring. It offers the majority of its products well below the price point of more established elite athlete brands. The two products Thomas prefers, for example, cost between $100 and $160.
Thomas is now the most high-profile ambassador for Amazfit, which is a challenger brand to the market whose first major foray was a partnership with fitness racing competition Hyrox as its Official Wearable and Timekeeping partner of Hyrox last summer. The other athletes to represent Amazfit are two Hyrox champions, a padel athlete and two endurance sport Olympians.
“That’s what makes this partnership so exciting for me,” Thomas wrote to SBJ about the brand’s upstart status. “Amazfit is coming into this space with tech innovation and a very versatile and sleek set of design options. I love that the brand is focused on pushing boundaries with a range of products, with new data to look at, and the messaging behind ‘Discover Amazing.’
“I just love a disruptor mindset because, at least in my sport, we are always looking to get 1% better, to keep pushing limits. I’m excited to partner with a brand that is coming into the elite sports wearable space with something fresh and cutting-edge.”
Thomas, who also won a silver and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, has previously discussed how using Whoop had been beneficial in her training, but this is her first smartwatch partnership. She will use the devices in training and competition, as well as to monitor her recovery, which she described as “a big piece of my preparation as a professional runner, and the insights it gives into my stress levels, sleep quality, recovery, and overall lifestyle is very helpful.”
The metrics Thomas identified as most important to her were recovery time, sleep quality, heart rate variability and her stress and readiness scores.
“I usually take a look at these scores every day to have an idea in the back of my mind of how hard I should push or if I need to give myself a little grace on a hard day,” she wrote.
As an added bonus, Thomas noted the designs are comfortable and lightweight while the battery is long-lasting. The recently released Active 2 touts battery life of up to 10 days with normal use. The accompanying Zepp app collects all the data and, for consumers, offers a generative AI coach with training recommendations.
“What impressed me about Amazfit was the innovation. I have access to a robust data system that can help with my intense training,” she wrote, adding that the smartwatches “give me heart rate monitoring and extensive sleep data for recovery as well as training and intensity insights that are tailored to me. I also love that the designs are sleek — so I can track my performance and also feel confident, which is something I really appreciate.”
