Rebecca Henderson and Masatora Kawano set world marathon race walk records at the All Japan Race Walking meeting in Takahata on Sunday. Kawano finished in 2:55:14 to set the inaugural men's record. Henderson also broke the women's record, improving on the previous time set in August. These distances became official recently.
Masatora Kawano, Rebecca Henderson set world marathon race walk records at All Japan Race Walking meet left File photo: Japan's Masatora Kawano set the inaugural men's world marathon race walk record. AFP AFP https://ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/joonq9/article71622673.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/AFP__20250913__74CQ2BZ__v1__HighRes__AthleticsWorld2025.jpg PHILIP FONG Japan's athlete Masatora Kawano reacts as he competes in the men's 35km race walk final during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 13, 2025. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
Kawano set the inaugural men's world record for the distance, with a time of 2:55:14 at the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Bronze event.
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Australia's Rebecca Henderson and Japan's Masatora Kawano set world marathon race walk records in women's and men's categories, respectively, at the All Japan Race Walking meeting in Takahata on Sunday.
Kawano set the inaugural men's world record for the distance, with a time of 2:55:14 at the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Bronze event.
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Henderson, meanwhile, improved on the 3:15:11 women's world record set by Sofia Fiorini at the European Championships in Birmingham in August.
The half marathon and marathon became official race walk distances on January 1, 2026. A time of 2:56:30 was set as the performance standard required for the inaugural men's world marathon race walk record.