Full Breakdown
Rebecca Henderson Sets Women’s Race Walk Marathon World Record in Japan
By Drooid · · How we work
Record-Breaking Performance in Takahata
On a rain-soaked Sunday at the All Japan Race Walking meeting in Takahata, northern Japan, 25-year-old Rebecca Henderson of Australia completed the 42.195 km race walk in 3 hours 14 minutes 52 seconds. World Athletics ratified the time as the new women’s marathon race-walk world record, surpassing the previous mark of 3 hours 15 minutes 11 seconds set by Italy’s Sofia Fiorini at the European Championships in Birmingham. Henderson finished 14 minutes ahead of the nearest competitor and outpaced many men in the mixed-gender field.
Context: New Official Race-Walk Distances
World Athletics officially recognized the half-marathon and marathon as race-walk events beginning January 1. The addition of these longer distances replaced the former 20 km and 35 km formats and created the championship platform in which Henderson’s record was achieved.
Australian Milestones in Race Walking
Henderson’s achievement marks the first world record by a non-disabled Australian in a championship setting since Nathan Deakes set the 50 km road record in Geelong in December 2006. She is a double Olympian and previously earned bronze in the women’s 10,000 m race walk at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Data & Statistics
- Henderson’s time: 3:14:52, improving the previous record by 19 seconds.
- Masatora Kawano of Japan set the inaugural men’s marathon race-walk world record at the same meet, clocking 2:55:14.
- The event was run in heavy rain, yet Henderson’s solo effort yielded a 14-minute margin of victory.
Official Reactions
Australian Athletics highlighted the performance in an Instagram post, calling it “epic.” Race-walk champion Isaac Beacroft described the result as “unbelievable,” while fellow walker Allanah Pitcher called it “incredible.” The governing body’s acknowledgment and the athletes’ comments underscore the significance of the new record for both Australian sport and the evolving discipline of race walking.