Sunday’s Sydney Marathon marked seven-for-seven for American masters superstar Jeannie Rice. The 77-year-old crossed the finish line in an impressive 3:37:48 during the event’s first year as an Abbott World Marathon Major, completing all seven marathon majors and winning her W75-79 category by a astonishing one hour and 21 minutes.
Remarkably, she also outpaced all the men in her age bracket, with the top male finisher clocking 4:00:52–giving her a lead of more than 22 minutes. That’s faster than 5:10/km (or 8:19/mile pace) over 42.2K.
Hideko Sato-Fraser of Japan took second in the W75-79 division in 4:59:30, while Eva Seidlova of Slovakia ran 5:11:53 for third.
An esteemed masters runner
Rice, an Ohio native, has now won her age category at all seven World Marathon Majors. Just last April, she shattered her own W75-79 world record at the London Marathon, running 3:33:27 to win her division by 30 minutes, in addition to beating the men by 11. One year earlier, at the USATF Masters Track and Field National Championships, she had rewritten the record books on the track as well, breaking the women’s 75-79 world records in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m.
She also holds the women’s 70-74 marathon record of 3:27:50, which she set in 2018 at 70. In 2023, Rice even ran 3:33:15 at the Boston Marathon (10 seconds faster than her current W75-79 world record) but Boston’s point-to-point, net-downhill course makes it ineligible for record purposes.
The highest W75+ VO2 max in history
Just six days after her world-record run in London, Rice travelled to an an exercise lab in England to undergo a series of tests like treadmill work, body composition analysis and jump assessments. Earlier this year, the fundings were published as a case study in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Researchers reported that Rice recorded a VO2 max of 47.8–the highest ever measured in a woman aged 75 or older–along with an unexpectedly high maximum heart rate of 180 bpm.
76-year-old woman sets impressive world record at London Marathon
This past summer, Rice also posted a string of standout performances over much shorter distances: in July, she ran 39:56 at the Johnnycake Jog 5-miler (8K), 24:06 from the Friday Night Lights 5K, and 23:04 at Ohio’s Rock Hall 5K in mid-August.
Rice spends half the year training in her hometown of Mentor, Ohio, before heading to Naples, Fla., each winter.
