Fastest Women's Marathon Time Each Year (2000–2026)
Year-by-year breakdown of the fastest women's marathon from Paula Radcliffe's 2:15:25 in 2003 to Tigst Assefa's 2:11:53 world record in 2023 and beyond.
· 6 min read · Rankings & Data
Paula Radcliffe ran 2:15:25 at the 2003 London Marathon and that time stood as the women's world record for 16 years. It took the combination of carbon-plate shoes, elite depth, and a new generation of athletes pushing each other to finally crack it.
Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14:04 in Chicago 2019, then Tigst Assefa ran 2:11:53 in Berlin 2023 - a time that, adjusted for wind and conditions, genuinely rivals some of the most impressive athletic performances in history.
The three phases of women's marathon development
**2000-2010:** Paula Radcliffe's era. She set three world records in three years. After her 2003 London time, the rest of the field took years to get close.
**2011-2018:** Stagnation, then Kosgei's breakthrough. Mary Keitany dominated the Majors, but world-record pace stalled. Many in the sport wondered if Radcliffe's mark would stand for a generation.
**2019-2026:** The supershoe revolution. Times dropped faster in this period than any comparable stretch in women's marathon history. Ruth Chepngetich's 2:09:56 in Chicago 2024 reset expectations entirely.
Year-by-year fastest women's marathon
| Year | Time | Athlete | Country | Race | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 2000 | **2:21:33** | Catherine Ndereba | 🇰🇪 KEN | Chicago Marathon | | 2001 | **2:18:47** | Catherine Ndereba | 🇰🇪 KEN | Chicago Marathon | | 2002 | **2:17:18** | Paula Radcliffe | 🇬🇧 GBR | Chicago Marathon | | 2003 | **2:15:25** | Paula Radcliffe | 🇬🇧 GBR | London Marathon | | 2004 | **2:19:41** | Yoko Shibui | 🇯🇵 JPN | Berlin Marathon | | 2005 | **2:17:42** | Paula Radcliffe | 🇬🇧 GBR | London Marathon | | 2006 | **2:19:36** | Deena Kastor | 🇺🇸 USA | London Marathon | | 2007 | **2:20:38** | Chunxiu Zhou | 🇨🇳 CHN | London Marathon | | 2008 | **2:19:19** | Irina Mikitenko | 🇩🇪 GER | Berlin Marathon | | 2009 | **2:22:11** | Irina Mikitenko | 🇩🇪 GER | London Marathon | | 2010 | **2:22:04** | Atsede Bayisa | 🇪🇹 ETH | Paris Marathon | | 2011 | **2:19:19** | Mary Jepkosgei Keitany | 🇰🇪 KEN | London Marathon | | 2012 | **2:18:37** | Mary Jepkosgei Keitany | 🇰🇪 KEN | London Marathon | | 2013 | **2:19:57** | Rita Jeptoo Sitienei | 🇰🇪 KEN | Chicago Marathon | | 2014 | **2:20:18** | Tirfi Tsegaye | 🇪🇹 ETH | Berlin Marathon | | 2015 | **2:19:25** | Gladys Cherono | 🇰🇪 KEN | Berlin Marathon | | 2016 | **2:19:41** | Tirfi Tsegaye | 🇪🇹 ETH | Dubai Marathon | | 2017 | **2:17:01** | Mary Jepkosgei Keitany | 🇰🇪 KEN | London Marathon | | 2018 | **2:18:11** | Gladys Cherono | 🇰🇪 KEN | Berlin Marathon | | 2019 | **2:14:04** | Brigid Kosgei | 🇰🇪 KEN | Chicago Marathon | | 2020 | **2:17:16** | Peres Jepchirchir | 🇰🇪 KEN | Valencia Marathon | | 2021 | **2:17:43** | Joyciline Jepkosgei | 🇰🇪 KEN | London Marathon | | 2022 | **2:14:18** | Ruth Chepngetich | 🇰🇪 KEN | Chicago Marathon | | 2023 | **2:11:53** | Tigst Assefa | 🇪🇹 ETH | Berlin Marathon | | 2024 | **2:09:56** | Ruth Chepngetich | 🇰🇪 KEN | Chicago Marathon | | 2025 | **2:14:00** | Joyciline Jepkosgei | 🇰🇪 KEN | Valencia Marathon | | 2026 | **2:10:51** | Fotyen Tesfay | 🇪🇹 ETH | Barcelona Marathon |
What this table reveals
**Chicago keeps producing fast times.** Catherine Ndereba won there twice at the start of the decade, Kosgei reset the world record there in 2019, and Chepngetich ran 2:09:56 there in 2024. The flat, out-and-back course is genuinely one of the fastest layouts in the world.
**2009-2018 was a flat decade.** After Radcliffe's 2003 record, the fastest times in this ten-year stretch ranged from 2:15 to 2:22. No records fell. Part of that was Radcliffe's record being genuinely exceptional for its era. Part of it was a tactical, depth-first Major era.
**Ruth Chepngetich's 2024 time is staggering.** Her 2:09:56 is only 8 minutes and 17 seconds behind the current men's world record. In 1983, that gap would have been over 15 minutes. The gender gap in marathon performance has narrowed sharply.
**London 2026 was exceptional.** Tigst Assefa ran 2:15:41 there in the women-only world record race, but this table shows the year's fastest women's time actually came from Fotyen Tesfay in Barcelona (2:10:51). Different courses, different contexts.
What this means for your running
The most important lesson from this data is that improvement is rarely linear. Radcliffe's record stood for 16 years. Then three different athletes broke or pushed it in five years. The sport finds breakthroughs in clusters.
Your training works the same way. Progress stalls, then a block of consistent work produces a breakthrough. If you're training for a first half or full marathon, use our [Race Predictor](/tools/race-predictor) to find a goal time grounded in your current fitness, then plan the block with our [Run Planner](/run-planner).
Sources
Data sourced from [World Athletics Senior Women's All-Time Marathon Toplist](https://worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/road-running/marathon/outdoor/women/senior).
Watch the animated year-by-year progression in our video below:
[](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/txAyZFIa-_Q)
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