Jessica Stenson breaks Australian women's marathon record in Valencia

Jessica Stenson broke the Australian women's marathon record in the Valencia Marathon on Sunday, clocking two hours, 21 minutes, 24 seconds in an historic run in the Spanish city.

Stenson's 2:21:24 trimmed 10 seconds off the record set by Sinead Diver in the Valencia Marathon in 2022.

Stenson, a three-time Olympian and the gold medallist in the 2022 Commonwealth Games marathon, finished fifth in Valencia.

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Kenya's John Korir was the first male home in 2:02:24, while the winning female was Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei in 2:14:00.

The first Australian male over the finish line was Tom Do Canto in a personal best of 2:11:14, followed by Ryan Gregson in 2:17:21.

The second Australian woman home was Izzi Batt-Doyle, who in an excellent run finished seventh in 2:23:35 to break her personal best.

And Australia's Genevieve Gregson, running a marathon only five months after giving birth to her second child, stopped the clock at 2:28:51.

Stenson, 38, is a mother of two kids: Billy, six, and Ellie, two.

The South Australian has produced the three fastest marathons of her career since giving birth to Ellie in September 2023, running 2:24:01 in South Korea's Daegu Marathon, 2:22:56 in the Tokyo Marathon and 2:21:25 in Valencia on Sunday.

She's also put together her best Olympic performance since having her second child, finishing 13th in 2:26:45 on the tough Paris course last year.

Elated for Stenson, Diver made a video call to her close friend just minutes after her finish in the Valencia Marathon.

"I just got off the phone to Sinead. She called me right away and we just cried. She was so happy for me, and it was so nice to connect with her after the race," Stenson said.

"I'm so delighted and so satisfied. Everyone's always said Valencia is a magic place to run, but I have to admit, I was really nervous coming into this race because I knew I was going to have a crack at the record and that it was going to hurt.

"I was expecting a lot of pain, mental pain more than anything, but it was one of those days that I was pleasantly surprised and I found my flow."

When Diver clocked 2:21:34 in Valencia in 2022, she broke a national record that had stood since 2006 — the 2:22:36 run by Benita Willis in the Chicago Marathon.

Diver and Stenson have been friends for more than a decade, but they grew particularly close amid the selection controversy that rocked Australian athletics ahead of and during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

"I'm so grateful for Sinead and that record she set," Stenson said.

"When there was one kilometre left to go, I was thinking of her and trying to squeeze as much as I could out of myself, knowing what was possible to achieve.

"I have the highest level of respect for her, so she was there with me in a positive way.

"I'm also so happy that Adam [Didyk, her coach) and Dylan, my husband, believed in me and what I could achieve, because you think of those moments, too."

Diver posted some classy words on Instagram about Stenson's record-breaking run.

"Well that was an absolute nail biter!!" Diver wrote.

"When I started running ... she was someone I really looked up to.

"I never imagined we'd go on to race each other so many times, become close friends, or share the honour of being back-to-back Australian marathon record holders.

"I couldn't be happier to see Jess take the title, she's an incredible athlete and an even better person."

Sunday's run was Stenson's third marathon of the year, after the Tokyo Marathon in March and the Sydney Marathon in late August.

While the Sydney Marathon has some hills, the Valencia Marathon is among the fastest marathons in the world.