Australia's Henderson Sets Race Walk Marathon Record

Australia's Rebecca Henderson has set a world record in the race walk marathon, clocking 3 hours 14 minutes 52 seconds at the All Japan Race Walking meeting on Sunday. She did it on a rainy day in Takahata, in northern Japan.

The 25-year-old from Dandenong became the first Australian track and field athlete in a generation to set a senior world record in a championship event. It is the first time in 20 years that a non-disabled Australian has set a global mark in an official championship event, since Nathan Deakes' 50km walk record in Geelong in December 2006.

A debut at the new distance

The marathon walk, over 42.195km, became an official World Athletics race walk distance in January, along with the half marathon. It replaced the traditional 20km and 35km races. Henderson was making her marathon debut. She finished ninth in the 35km at last year's world championships in Tokyo.

Her time cut 19 seconds from the previous record, set by Italy's Sofia Fiorini when she won the European Championships in Birmingham in August. Henderson walked alone for most of the race and won the women's race by 14 minutes, passing many of the men in the mixed field along the way.

She is a double Olympian who recently won Commonwealth Games bronze at 10,000m on the track in Glasgow, and took World University Games team silver in Bochum last year. The Takahata result is the biggest of her career.

More records at Takahata

In the half marathon, Elizabeth McMillen won in 1:31:31, the fifth-fastest time yet in the new women's event and an Australian record that took almost seven minutes off her best. McMillen beat Henderson to Commonwealth Games silver.

Japan's Masatora Kawano, two days after turning 28, set the inaugural men's world race walk marathon record in 2:55:14 at the same meeting. He had set a 35km world record of 2:21:47 at the same venue two years ago.

Source: The Guardian