Two world records were established in women's race walking at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Saturday as governing body World Athletics recognised the new benchmark times for the distances that were made official earlier this year.
Record performances in newly sanctioned disciplines
María Pérez of Spain won the inaugural women's half-marathon race walk in a time of 1:30:06, while Sofia Fiorini of Italy took the marathon race-walk title in 3:15.11. Both marks were set on the same day at the championships staged in Birmingham.
World Athletics introduced the half-marathon and marathon distances for women’s race walking as official disciplines in January. To guide the recognition of the first world records at those distances, the federation published performance standards that athletes needed to exceed.
“World Athletics set 1:30:30 as the performance standard required for the inaugural women’s half marathon world record and 3:17:00 for the women’s marathon world record,” the governing body said.
Both Pérez and Fiorini surpassed those thresholds. Pérez's half-marathon time was 24 seconds faster than the 1:30:30 standard; Fiorini bettered the marathon benchmark by 1 minute 49 seconds. The performances therefore stand as the inaugural official world records for the two distances, pending the routine ratification processes.
What the results mean
The achievements mark a significant moment for women's race walking, extending the range of championship distances in which elite female walkers can now contest world records. Pérez, aged 30, already held the world record at 35 kilometres, a fact that underlines her status among the sport’s leading athletes. Fiorini, at 21, becomes one of the youngest to claim an inaugural world record at the senior level in a new discipline.
Both records will be subject to the usual ratifications by World Athletics, which typically include verification of course measurement, adherence to competition rules, doping-control results and technical checks by the relevant officials.
- Event: European Athletics Championships, Birmingham
- Half-marathon winner: María Pérez (Spain) — 1:30:06
- Marathon winner: Sofia Fiorini (Italy) — 3:15.11
- World Athletics standards: Half-marathon 1:30:30, Marathon 3:17:00
The new standards and these performances address a technical and historical gap. Until January this year the half-marathon and marathon distances had not been formally recognised as world-record events for women’s race walking by the sport’s global governing body. By setting initial benchmarks, World Athletics has created a clear framework for future record attempts and statistical comparisons across the sport.
| Distance | Athlete | Country | Time | World Athletics standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half-marathon walk | María Pérez | Spain | 1:30:06 | 1:30:30 |
| Marathon walk | Sofia Fiorini | Italy | 3:15.11 | 3:17:00 |
Officials and statisticians will now proceed through established checks before the performances can be formally entered into World Athletics’ record books. These include confirmation that judging and course measurements complied with regulations and clearance through doping-control procedures, a routine but essential step in validating world records.
For Pérez, who also holds the 35km world record, the half-marathon mark adds to a growing résumé. Fiorini’s success as a 21-year-old points to rising talent within Italy’s race-walking ranks and more broadly to a changing landscape as the sport expands competitive opportunities at longer road distances for women.
Further coverage of the European Championships will report on ratification outcomes as they are confirmed by World Athletics and the relevant national federations.
