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Batt-Doyle and Strintzos Break Records at Launceston Half


Australians Isobel Batt-Doyle and Haftu Strintzos turned in record-breaking performances to win the McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania.

Running with a private male pacer, NR holder Batt-Doyle dusted the field with the fastest half marathon ever by an Australian woman on Australian soil, a 1:08:46 CR that put her 2 and a half minutes ahead of runner-up Genevieve Gregson. Last year's runner-up Yumi Yoshikawa was almost a minute back from Gregson in 3rd in 1:12:03, but was almost run down by club runner Ayaka Shimoyamada. Starting slow in her international debut, Shimoyamada moved up from 7th over the 2nd half of the race to finish 4th in 1:12:06, kicking hard in the home straight to try to catch Yoshikawa and momentarily blacking out after finishing. Kaho Onishi was 7th in 1:12:45 in her own international debut.

The men's half had pacing set at 2:53/km to try to deliver the first-ever sub-61 half marathon on Australian soil. CR holder Teruki Shimada, last year's 3rd and 4th-placers Brett Robinson and Jinya Ozaki, debuting pro Ethan Shuley, the 2 fastest recent men in the field Tsubasa Ichiyama and Haftu Strintzos and others rolled with that through 10 km. When the pacer stopped things slowed slightly, but Strintzos put in a surge to keep it moving with Robinson and Shuley in tow.

Shuley quickly lost touch, and Strintzos and Robinson hit 14 km in 40:22, dead on 2:53/km and 1:00:50 pace. After the 14.3 km turnaround Strintzos took advantage of the shift to a tailwind and dropped Robinson, soloing the rest of the way to win in 1:00:41, the fastest time ever on Australian soil. Former Teikyo University teammates Ozaki and Shimada worked together to run Shuley down and then set their sights on Robinson, coming up just short as Robison took 2nd in 1:01:22, Ozaki 3rd in 1:01:27 and Shimada 4th in 1:01:29.

Shuley struggled after the turnaround but just held on to his place in the 5-deep prize money, beating Ryuichi Yoshioka 1:02:03 to 1:02:07. Current Teikyo student Yuta Asakawa was 7th in 1:02:20, with Ichiyama a disappointing 8th in 1:02:47 after catching a cold earlier in the week. Post-race Ozaki told JRN that he regretted hanging back with the other Japanese runners when Strintzos made his move. "I think if I'd gone with Ethan I could have come pretty close to Haftu. But I was 4th last year and 3rd this time, so in the next 2 years I'll for sure get the win."

The 10 km, originally the event's main race, also had solid runs with PBs from both winners. Caitlin Scott dropped a 31:38 PB to win the women's race by over 30 seconds, with men's winner Ed Marks beating 10 km NR holder Sam Clifford and half marathon NR holder Jack Rayner to go under 28 minutes on the roads for the first time with a 27:57 win.

McGrath Launceston Running Festival Top Results

Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, 31 May 2026

Peppers Silo Half Marathon - Women
1. Isobel Batt-Doyle (Australia) - 1:08:46 - CR
2. Genevieve Gregson (Australia) - 1:11:10
3. Yumi Yoshikawa (Japan/Canon) - 1:12:03
4. Ayaka Shimoyamada (Japan/TT Runners) - 1:12:06
5. Tara Palm (Australia) - 1:12:13
6. Milly Clark (Australia) - 1:12:37
7. Kaho Onishi (Japan/Route Inn Hotels) - 1:12:45
8. Nichola Sheridan (Ireland) - 1:12:47 - PB
9. Danette Doetzel (Canada) - 1:14:47
10. Sarah Klein (Australia) - 1:16:23

Peppers Silo Half Marathon - Men
1. Haftu Strintzos (Australia) - 1:00:41 - ACR
2. Brett Robinson (Australia) - 1:01:22
3. Jinya Ozaki (Japan/NTT) - 1:01:27
4. Teruki Shimada (Japan/Logisteed) - 1:01:29
5. Ethan Shuley (U.S.A.) - 1:02:03
6. Ryuichi Yoshioka (Japan/Honda Tochigi) - 1:02:07
7. Yuta Asakawa (Japan/Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:20
8. Tsubasa Ichiyama (Japan/Sunbelx) - 1:02:47
9. Liam Boudin (Australia) - 1:02:48
10. Connor Melton (New Zealand) - 1:03:25 - debut

Tamar Chiro 10 km - Women
1. Caitlin Scott (Australia) - 31:38 - PB
2. Georgie Grgec (New Zealand) - 32:15
3. Ruby Smee (Australia) - 32:45 - PB
4. Rebecca Lowe (Australia) - 33:29 - PB
5. Amy Robinson (Australia) - 34:19

Tamar Chiro 10 km - Men
1. Ed Marks (Australia) - 27:57 - PB
2. Sam Clifford (Australia) - 29:14
3. Jack Rayner (Australia) - 29:25
4. Ben Beischer (Australia) - 29:30 - PB
5. Lachie Hall (Australia) - 29:40 - PB

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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