Athlete Batt-Doyle breaks Australian record in Chicago — The Guardian

Australian athlete Izzi Batt-Doyle set a national marathon record by running the Chicago Marathon in the United States in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 38 seconds. The 31-year-old athlete finished sixth and surpassed Australia’s previous mark by 46 seconds.

New national record

The previous record of 2:21:24 was set by Jess Stenson in 2025. Batt-Doyle’s result was also two minutes faster than her personal best: she recorded 2:22:59 at the Valencia Marathon in 2024.

As The Guardian reports, Batt-Doyle is a two-time Olympic participant in the 5,000 metres. She had previously held Australian national records in the half marathon and the 10,000 metres.

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Plan for the distance

After finishing, the athlete said she was very pleased with the result and felt relieved, as she had considered the record attainable for the past several years. According to her, her fiancé Riley Cox ran alongside her for most of the distance, while she stuck to the planned pace and intended to save energy for the second half of the marathon.

Batt-Doyle noted that she realized during the race that she would be able to go under 2 hours and 21 minutes, and she was already celebrating the result over the final 150 metres. Over the past year, she also recorded 2:25:06 at the Boston Marathon and claimed four half-marathon victories in Australia between May and August.

Ethiopian runner Hawi Feysa won the women’s Chicago Marathon in 2:13:33. Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi finished second with a time of 2:14:07.