Italy’s Sofia Fiorini broke the women’s race walking marathon world record by more than nine minutes at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Spain’s Maria Perez also set a world record in the half-marathon, making the event a notable double-record occasion.

The records were achieved during the women’s race walking competition at the championships in Birmingham. Fiorini’s improvement of over nine minutes underlines the scale of her marathon performance, while Perez’s half-marathon mark added a second world record for the race.