Izzi Batt-Doyle breaks Australian marathon record with 2:20:38 in Chicago

Izzi Batt-Doyle, 31, broke the Australian women's marathon record on Sunday at the Chicago Marathon, finishing sixth in 2:20:38.

She lowered the national mark previously held by Jess Stenson (2:21:24) and improved her own personal best by two minutes. Batt-Doyle is a two-time Olympian over 5,000m and already held the Australian records for the half-marathon and 10,000m; her prior marathon best was 2:22:59 in Valencia in 2024. Earlier Australian marathon records noted in Chicago and subsequent years included Benita Willis's 2:22:36 in 2006 and Sinead Diver's 2:21:34 in 2022, before Stenson's 2025 time.

Batt-Doyle’s 2:20:38 shaved 46 seconds off Stenson’s mark and bettered her own previous best by roughly two minutes. She raised her arms as she crossed the line and then embraced her fiance Riley Cocks, who ran with her for the race and finished seconds behind.

“I’m very, very happy. I feel a sense of relief, because it’s something I really felt I could achieve and it’s been on my mind the past couple of years,'' Batt-Doyle said after her record-breaking effort. “I’m really proud I could achieve it. “Most of the race I was fortunate my fiance Riley was running with me. I spent most of the race trusting our plan and the pacing strategy we had hoped to run halfway in and hoped that I would feel strong in the second half. I knew I was going to get under 2:21 ... I was able to celebrate the last 150 metres and seeing the clock, I gave a few fist pumps and smiles.'’

Her buildup over the past 12 months included a 2:25:06 at this year’s Boston Marathon and four half-marathon wins in Australia between May and August, results noted as part of her form heading into Chicago.

The elite women’s race was won by Ethiopian Hawi Feysa in 2:13:33, with Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi second in 2:14:07; Lokedi contested much of the final 8km with Feysa but could not stay with the Ethiopian when the pace lifted.

Batt-Doyle’s new national record is reported as building momentum towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2032 Games in Brisbane.