Jessica Stenson is now the fastest Australian woman to ever run a marathon.
On Sunday in Valencia, the 38-year-old Commonwealth Games champion crossed the line in 2:21:25, taking nine seconds off Sinead Diver’s national record of 2:21:34 that had stood since 2021. It was a performance defined by control, precision, and the kind of championship composure that has marked Stenson’s entire career.
Finishing fifth overall in a stacked field — won by Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei in a world-leading 2:14:00 — Stenson ran with metronomic consistency. Her fastest 5km split was 16:41, her slowest 16:52. She passed halfway in 70:37 and closed with a 70:47 second half. No panic. No fade. Just the disciplined execution of a woman who knew exactly what she came to do.
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When she saw the clock, she roared. Then she cried.
“I just got off the phone to Sinead — she called me right away and we just cried,” Stenson said. “She was so happy for me, and it was so nice to connect after the race.”
The mutual respect between Australia’s marathon women is one of the sport’s most genuine storylines. Diver, now 48, set her record at the same Valencia course four years ago. Stenson carried that legacy with her through the final kilometres.
“I’m so grateful for Sinead and the standard she set. In the final kilometre I was thinking about her, knowing what was possible. I have the highest respect for her.”
This was Stenson’s third marathon of 2025 — a year that included the Paris Olympics, where she finished 13th. It also caps a remarkable chapter in a career that began with a 2:31 debut in 2012 and has since included three Olympic Games, a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham, and now a national record.
Coached by Adelaide-based Adam Didyk and racing under the Team Tempo banner, Stenson has built her success on consistency, longevity, and an ability to perform when it matters most. She became a mother twice during her career — son Billy in 2019, daughter Ellie in 2023 — and returned from both pregnancies to run personal bests.
Valencia delivered for other Australians too. Isobel Batt-Doyle finished seventh in 2:23:35, while Genevieve Gregson, racing just five months postpartum, ran 2:28:51.
But Sunday belonged to Stenson. Two decades of persistence. One perfect morning in Spain. And now, the record.