Izzy Batt-Doyle has become the new distance queen of Australian athletics, breaking the US national record by more than 45 seconds. Butt-Doyle clocked two hours, 20 minutes and 38 seconds as she finished sixth in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday (local time).
The 31-year-old beat the previous Australian record of 2:21:24 set by Jess Stenson in 2025 by 46 seconds. Batt-Doyle is a two-time Olympian in the 5,000 meters and was already the Australian record holder in the half marathon and 10,000 meters.
She said she was inspired by former Australian record holder Benita Willis, who traveled to Chicago in 2:20:38, bettering her personal best by an incredible two minutes. Willis ran 2:22:36 at the 2006 Chicago Marathon, a time which stood as the Australian record until Sinead Diver (2:21:34) in 2022 and Stenson in 2025 when 2:21:24 was achieved.
Now Batt-Doyle has removed that mark as it builds momentum towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2032 Games in Brisbane.
As Batt-Doyle crossed the finish line in Chicago, she raised her arms in joy before embracing her fiance Riley Cocks, who ran with her the entire way and was seconds behind.
“I’m very, very happy. I’m relieved because it’s something I really feel I can achieve and it’s been on my mind for the last couple of years,” Batt-Doyle said after his record-breaking effort. “I’m really proud that I was able to achieve this.
“For most of the race, I was lucky to have my fiance Riley running with me. I spent most of the race trusting our plan and the pace strategy we were hoping to run at the half, and I was hoping to feel strong in the second half. I knew I was going to drop under 2:21… I was able to mark the last 150 meters and see the clock and punch a few.”
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The South Australian’s previous best marathon time was 2:22:59 in Valencia in 2024. Butt-Doyle has been in impressive form over the past 12 months. He ran 2:25:06 in this year’s Boston Marathon before recording four half-marathon wins in Australia between May and August.
Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa broke the tape in 2:13:33 on Sunday to retain his Chicago crown in a heavyweight clash with Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi. Back-to-back Boston winner Lokedi (2:14:07) battled Feysa for much of the final 8km, but the Ethiopian was unable to hold on as his foot hit the gas.