Have you run a marathon in three hours and 15 minutes? Bravo if you have. You are certainly no slouch.
Now consider that Rebecca Henderson, a 25-year-old from Melbourne with a biomedical science degree, just walked a marathon in that time.
Rebecca Henderson representing Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympics. David Ramos/Getty Images
She actually went marginally quicker, stopping the clock at three hours, 14 minutes and 52 seconds.
In doing so, she broke the women’s marathon race walk world record.
Henderson, a two-time Olympian , delivered the record-breaking performance in rain-soaked conditions in Japan on Sunday.
“Bec goes BANG,” Australian Athletics wrote on Instagram in a post celebrating the epic race walk.
“Unbelievable,” Australian race walk champion Isaac Beacroft commented.
“Incredible,” wrote Australian race walker Allanah Pitcher.
Henderson’s time of 3:14:52 bettered the 3:15:11 world record set by Italian Sofia Fiorini at the European championships in Birmingham in August.
At the same event on Sunday, Japan’s Masatora Kawano completed the 42.195-kilometre journey in his home country in 2:55:14 to claim the inaugural men’s marathon race walk world record.
World Athletics only made the half-marathon and marathon official race walk distances on January 1.
Henderson won bronze in the women’s 10,000m race walk at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in August.
Australia swept the podium in the event , with Jemima Montag clinching gold and Elizabeth McMillen silver.
Henderson, a two-time , delivered the record-breaking performance in rain-soaked conditions in Japan on Sunday.
, with clinching gold and Elizabeth McMillen silver.
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