Izzi Batt-Doyle smashes Australian marathon record in Chicago

Izzi Batt-Doyle has smashed the Australian women's marathon record, running 2 hours 20 minutes 38 seconds for sixth place at the Chicago Marathon.

The clock made her the first Australian woman to break 2:21. Her time took 46 seconds off the previous national mark, according to ABC.

Up front, the race was won in a blur. Ethiopia's Hawi Feysa took victory in 2:13:33, with Kenya's Sharon Lokedi second in 2:14:07. Batt-Doyle was almost seven minutes behind the winner. She was running her own race, against the record books.

That record had been moving fast. Jess Stenson set the previous Australian best of 2:21:24 in 2025, as reported by The Guardian. Before that, Sinead Diver ran 2:21:34 in 2022 to lower the mark. Before that, Benita Willis held it with 2:22:36 from the 2006 Chicago Marathon.

Batt-Doyle has now dragged it into new territory. Her previous personal best, the fastest she had ever run the 42.195km distance, was 2:22:59 from Valencia in 2024. That means she improved by more than two minutes in Chicago. Earlier this season she ran 2:25:06 at the Boston Marathon. Chicago was a different level.

She did not do it alone. Her fiance, Riley Cocks, ran with her in Chicago and finished just seconds behind her. Marathon running can be lonely work, even in a field of thousands. To have a trusted partner through the hard middle miles, when the legs go quiet and then loud again, matters.

Batt-Doyle arrived on the roads from the track. She is a two-time Olympian over 5000m, the 12-and-a-half-lap event that rewards speed and nerve. She already holds the Australian records for the half-marathon and for 10,000m.

What makes this stand out is the size of the jump. Dropping from 2:22 to 2:20 is not tidying up a record. It is breaking it open. A marathon is often judged on splits, the time for each 5km section, and to average around 3:19 per kilometre for more than two hours takes relentless control.

For fans, this means Australia has a new name at the sharp end of women's marathon running. Sixth in Chicago, in a record time, puts Batt-Doyle among runners who can live with fast early pace and still finish strong. The next start line will be watched closely.