María Pérez and Sofia Fiorini made history at the World Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Saturday, setting the first official world records in the women’s half marathon race walk and women’s marathon race walk, respectively.
Pérez won the women’s half marathon race walk in 1:30:06, while Fiorini took the women’s marathon race walk in 3:15:11. Both events were newly established distances, with the half marathon and marathon race walks becoming official on 1 January 2026.
Pérez delivers another major milestone
Pérez, the European gold medalist who already held the world record for the 35km race walk, said she was not expecting to break the world record. “I wasn’t expecting to break the world record today; I didn’t even know what the world record was,” she said.
She added that the race stayed difficult throughout because of the quality in the field. “It was a difficult race with a lot of medal contenders. The pace was very fast so I just tried to keep up with everyone else, but at some point I just knew I was capable of going for the gold.”
The winning time was enough to put Pérez alone at the top of a brand-new record list, and it also reinforced her place as one of the sport’s most versatile race walkers.
Fiorini improves dramatically from April
Fiorini’s performance carried its own significance. In April, she recorded 3:25:42 to take silver at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Brasília. In Birmingham, she cut that mark by 10 minutes and 31 seconds to produce a 3:15:11 world record in the marathon race walk.
The improvement stands out even more because the marathon race walk is one of the sport’s newest official events. With the distance now on the books, Fiorini became the first athlete to own the world record.
Massimo Stano also won the men’s marathon race walk on Saturday, finishing in 2:56:49. The day, though, belonged most clearly to Pérez and Fiorini, whose performances gave the World Athletics Championships an early headline and established the benchmark for two new events.
For both athletes, the records are more than isolated results. They are the opening standard for events that will now carry history forward from Birmingham.
