Record breakers and rising stars will lead Australia back to the streets of Tokyo this September for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, with six marathoners announced today by Australian Athletics headlined by national record holder Andrew Buchanan.
Selected from a strong crop of Australian marathoners who nominated for the event, the team will be spearheaded by Buchanan (VIC) and Australian Half Marathon record holder Isobel Batt-Doyle (SA), with a pair of proven performers in Leanne Pompeani (ACT) and Tim Vincent (QLD) making their World Athletics Championshipsdebut alongside the experienced duo.
Vanessa Wilson (VIC) and Liam Boudin (QLD) will round out the team as the fifth and sixth marathoners donning the green and gold, conditionally selected pending an invitation from World Athletics if quota places become available.
Together, the squad will take on a course in central Tokyo, starting at Japan National Stadium before completing two laps of a 13-kilometre circuit, taking runners through some of the city’s most famous districts. These include Akihabara, Nihonbashi and Ginza, as well as the scenic Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station before athletes loop back to the stadium after a challenging climb at the 38-40km mark that could dictate final placings.
For Batt-Doyle, Tokyo is familiar ground. As an Olympic debutant in the 5000m at the Tokyo Games, the South Australian returns to the Japanese capital just four years on as the fourth-fastest Australian female marathoner in history.
Clocking 2:22:59 in Valencia last December to qualify for the World Championships, Batt-Doyle is one of the leaders in a new era of Australian road running.
“It’s great to know I have a guaranteed opportunity in Tokyo! It’s a long way until I focus on that race obviously and for now I will see how fast I can run at 5000m and 10,000m, but to be selected on any Australian team is such an honour given the depth of women we have,” Batt-Doyle said.
Buchanan also made history in 2024, becoming the fastest Australian man to run the grueling distance when he clocked 2:06:22 in Valencia, eclipsing Brett Robinson’s 2022 mark by more than one minute and finishing 16th in a high-calibre field.
The Bendigo product finished the Olympic marathon in Paris in 45th place after a late-call up just weeks earlier, with Tokyo yet another chance to showcase his form amongst the world’s greats once more.
“I skipped on the World Championships in Budapest to focus on a different marathon and I really regretted that. The experience I had at the Olympics just made running the marathon for Australia my number one priority,” Buchanan said.
“Something I want to get better at is ‘racing’ the marathon. I don’t just want to be known as someone who went to Valencia and ran really fast, and that was it. I want to be competitive at these championship races and the fact that it’s going to be hot in Tokyo works well for us; I want it to be as hot as possible.”
Two-time Zatopek:10 winner Pompeani has long been one of Australia’s most consistent distance talents. A proven competitor on the track, road and grass, the Canberran made her transition to the marathon in spectacular style when running the fastest debut marathon by an Australian woman – clocking 2:24.53 at the Nagoya Women’s Only marathon in March this year.
With four marathons under his belt, including second place at the Kobe Marathon in 2023 and a start at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga in 2023, Vincent has earned his chance on the world stage with a best time of 2:09:40 which places him ninth on the Australian all-time list.
Gold Coast lawyer Liam Boudin will take a break from his corporate career to make his Australian team debut alongside Buchanan and Vincent, and 42-year-old Melbourne PE Teacher Vanessa Wilson will prepare for her eighth marathon but first for Australia.
Australian Athletics General Manager – High Performance, Andrew Faichney praised the balance of the squad and the depth of growing marathon talent emerging across the country.
“This team reflects the growing depth and quality of Australian distance running. From record-breaking runs in recent times from the likes of Andy and Izzi, to the hard-earned breakthroughs by Leanne and Tim, each athlete has earned their place through performances that speak for themselves. We’re thrilled to see them take on the world in Tokyo,” Faichney said.
The Women’s Marathon will be on September 14 on Day 2 of the Championships, while the Men’s race will take place the next day, with both races scheduled to begin at 8am local time.
The full Australian team will be announced following the end of the qualification period, this August.
Australian Marathoners at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025:
Men:
Andrew Buchanan (VIC, Scott Westcott)
Tim Vincent (QLD, Jackson Elliott)
Liam Boudin (QLD, Collis Birmingham)*
Women:
Isobel Batt-Doyle (SA, Nic Bideau)
Leanne Pompeani (ACT, Des Proctor)
Vanessa Wilson (VIC, Paul Wilson)*
*Boudin and Wilson will be formally selected should additional places become available by invitation from World Athletics.
By Sascha Ryner, Australian Athletics
Posted 9/5/2025
AloJapan.com