Australia’s Rebecca Henderson has set a new women’s world record* for the marathon race walk, clocking 3:14:52 at the All Japan Race Walking meeting in Takahata, Japan, on Sunday 25 October.

Henderson’s time beat the previous mark of 3:15:11, set by Italy’s Sofia Fiorini at the European Championships in Birmingham in August. The record is subject to World Athletics ratification. The meeting was a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Bronze event.

The marathon and half marathon became official race walk distances on 1 January 2026, and Henderson has quickly made the new distances her own. She is the 2026 Australian half marathon race walk champion and also holds the Oceania Area Best Performance and world best for the 30km race walk.

The record caps a strong season for Henderson, who recently won bronze in the 10,000m race walk at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

*Pending ratification.
** National and Area Records are pending ratification due to the new inclusion of the event in 2026.

—ENDS—