Agathe Guillemot has had a thunderous start to the year. The 26-year-old already holds French records in the Indoor & Outdoor 1500m, and set three personal indoor records in February 2026: a 4:23 mile, a 5:32 2000m, and lastly a 4:00.64 1500m. After a challenging year in 2025, Agathe admits that "winning again feels good."

At the French Championships on February 28th, her goal wasn't to run a specific time, but to win the national title for the third consecutive year. She achieved just that, finishing in 4:17.68, ahead of Bérénice Cleyet-Merle (2nd in 4:20.51) and Adèle Gay (3rd in 4:20.'60). It is also a fitting revenge on the latter, who had beaten her at the French Outdoor Championships last summer, when Agathe was the favorite.

A Change of Environment

Agathe had lost some confidence after underperforming at the French Outdoor Championships. "I arrived in Tokyo in September for the world championships, surely in peak form, but not at all ready in my head." This combination of failures prompted a reevaluation of her training approach. Something had to change to regain confidence and, as a result, her performance.

In December 2025, she joined the Long Game Project, a group of 13 elite athletes led by Alann Moreau. "I am seeking to renew what is usually done in France in terms of training," explains the 23-year-old coach. He is a master's student in Training and Optimization of Sports Performance, and already has impressive results. "I rely on both scientific data and human factors to precisely understand the requirements of the race."

More Time Dedicated to Recovery

For Agathe, this new dynamic has resulted in a decrease in the overall training volume, especially in the number of high-intensity sessions. "I now only rarely do sessions at full throttle. Before, I had to endure more muscle strain, and even if I was physically ready, I lacked freshness."

At the start of this year, Agathe is on a weekly volume ranging between 80 and 90 km. "There are fewer sessions and more low-intensity runs to better absorb the intense sessions," explains Alann. "Runs at 100% happen in competition." Less strength training, less VO2 max, more recovery: Agathe's impressive victory at the French championships in Clermont seems to indicate that this new strategy is the right one.

It should also be noted that Agathe's schedule includes up to two cycling sessions per week. "I love it! I avoid the home trainer and try to spend as much time as possible outdoors. My outings last about 2 hours." This cross-training allows her to work on her endurance with a supported sport that has less impact on her joints.

A recent week of training, including a hard running session and a 46km bike ride

A Controlled Race

In the 1500m event at the French Indoor Championships, the athletes started at a deliberately slow pace (a common tactic in championship racing). "That was my strategy: wait to start, but then go all out!" Four hundred meters from the finish line, when no one seemed to be expecting it, she put in a burst of speed that left all her competitors in the dust. "I really took off in a sprint, as if dogs were chasing me!", she laughs. Now alone in first, she continued to widen the gap, leaving Bérénice and Adèle to complete the podium nearly 3 seconds behind her.

Agathe's pace, cadence, and heart rate data during the 1500m at the French Indoor Championships

In both training and in competition, Agathe uses the full COROS ecosystem. "I'm running with the new PACE 4. The screen is even more readable than on the PACE 3, it's extremely intuitive to use, and it's perfect for me. I also wear the COROS heart rate armband, which is infinitely more comfortable than a chest strap."

The data collected by her devices is compiled in graphs on the COROS Training Hub. Regarding her race at the French championships, we can see that the pace drops very quickly, in parallel with the cadence, before a sudden increase in both values when she made her finishing move. "To obtain even more precise cadence data, I'm considering wearing the COROS POD 2", she specifies. Her heart rate, which remains relatively stable despite the acceleration, shows just how much Agathe was in control.

Ambitious 2026 targets

Building on this start of the year, Agathe approaches the remainder of 2026 with full confidence and sets herself three highly ambitious goals: a podium finish at the World Indoor Championships in Poland, the title at the European Championships this summer in Birmingham, and to lower her 1500m PR to 3:55. A year we can't wait to follow!