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Gold Coast Half Marathon Elite Field


Over the weekend the Gold Coast Marathon announced its elite fields for the China Airlines Half Marathon the day before the main race. For the last couple of years there's been a friendly rivalry between Gold Coast and Tasmania's Launceston Half a month earlier to produce the fastest times ever on Australian soil. Gold Coast has had the women's record for a few years since American Keira D'Amato ran 1:06:39 in 2023, and last year it added the men's record with a 1:01:08 from Andy Buchanan. Launceston took the men's record this year with a 1:00:41 from Haftu Strintzos, and women's winner Izzi Batt-Doyle ran a course record 1:08:46, the fastest time ever by an Australia in Australia.

NR holder Batt-Doyle is the favorite again in the women's race at Gold Coast. Women-only half marathon NR holder Rino Goshima has run as fast as 1:08:03, but since moving up to the marathon she hasn't anything near that kind of time, and a 33:12 at the B.A.A. 10 km this weekend, over 2 minutes off her best, doesn't suggest she's ready to give Batt-Doyle a race of it. Sayaka Sato is the next-closest competition, but the main question in her case is how the turnaround has been since her 2:21:56 runner-up finish in Nagoya in March.

Georgie Grgec, Risa Yamazaki, Seira Fuwa and Camille French all have fresher sub-70 times, and the debuting Ruby Smee should be in the race for 2nd with them. Yamazaki is straight off a 15:15.24 PB in the National Championships 5000 m last weekend, and collegiate 10000 m record holder Fuwa is running Gold Coast as a tuneup for her debut at August's Hokkaido Marathon. Caitlin Scott, Grgec and Smee took the top 3 spots in the 10 km in Launceston, Scott with a solid 31:38 PB and both Grgec and Smee under 33.

Buchanan is at the top of the men's field, and with Neo Namiki and Daisuke Sato both having run faster than Strintzos's Launceston mark in Marugame this past February there could be a good race to get the men's all-comers record back. Sub-61 men Hideto Yamanaka and Shumpei Tomita should support that, and former Australian NR holder Brett Robinson leads the rest of the field off a 1:01:22 for 2nd in Launceston this year. Ed Marks is an interesting debut off a 27:57 win in Launceston's 10 km over 10 km NR holder Sam Clifford and new half marathon NR holder Jack Rayner.

The elite field for the Gold Coast Marathon is here.

China Airlines Gold Coast Half Marathon

Elite Field Highlights
Gold Coast, Australia, 4 July 2026
times listed are athletes' best in last 3 years except where noted

Women
Isobel Batt-Doyle (Australia) - 1:07:17 (Marugame 2025)
Sayaka Sato (Japan) - 1:09:03 (Copenhagen 2024)
Georgie Grgec (New Zealand) - 1:09:13 (Berlin 2025)
Risa Yamazaki (Japan) - 1:09:30 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2026)
Seira Fuwa (Japan) - 1:09:39 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2026)
Camille French (New Zealand) - 1:09:59 (Gold Coast 2025)
Caitlin Scott (Australia) - 1:10:26 (Gold Coast 2025)
Genevieve Gregson (Australia) - 1:10:49 (Ballarat 2026)
Sinead Diver (Australia) - 1:10:56 (Melbourne 2025)
Mayu Nishikawa (Japan) - 1:10:59 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2026)
Shiho Tachizako (Japan) - 1:11:16 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2024)
Rie Kawauchi (Japan) - 1:11:17 (Marugame 2025)
Donve Viljoen (Australia) - 1:13:06 (Sydney 2026)
Jenny Blundell (Australia) - 1:13:30 (Melbourne 2025)
Rebecca Lowe (Australia) - 1:14:22 (Sunshine Coast 2025)
Eloise Wellings (Australia) - 1:14:57 (Ballarat 2026)
Grace Lynch (Ireland) - 1:15:38 (Nat'l Champs 2024)
Rino Goshima (Japan) - 1:08:03 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2022)
Ellie Pashley (Australia) - 1:09:26 (Gold Coast 2023)
Ruby Smee (Australia) - debut - 32:57 (Launceston 10 km 2025)
Kate Spencer (Australia) - debut - 33:26 (Sydney 10 km 2026)

Men
Andy Buchanan (Australia) - 1:00:28 (Marugame 2025)
Neo Namiki (Japan) - 1:00:29 (Marugame 2026)
Daisuke Sato (Japan) - 1:00:40 (Marugame 2026)
Hideto Yamanaka (Japan) - 1:00:52 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2026)
Shumpei Tomita (Japan) - 1:00:58 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2026)
Brett Robinson (Australia) - 1:01:20 (Launceston 2025)
Liam Boudin (Australia) - 1:01:26 (Marugame 2026)
Yuta Azuma (Japan) - 1:01:32 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2026)
Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Japan) - 1:01:48 (Osaka 2024)
Sam Clifford (Australia) - 1:01:49 (Gold Coast 2025)
Tim Vincent (Australia) - 1:01:55 (Gentbrugge 2026)
Shin Kimura (Japan) - 1:01:58 (Sendai 2026)
Ed Goddard (Australia) - 1:02:01 (Ageo 2024)
Tatsuya Kiyama (Japan) - 1:02:08 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2026)
Takayuki Matsuura (Japan) - 1:02:40 (Marugame 2026)
Takuma Takemura (Japan) - 1:02:49 (Sendai 2026)
Ryan Gregson (Australia) - 1:03:00 (Larne 2024)
Jo Fukuda (Japan) - 1:02:25 (Marugame 2019)
Kazuto Kawabata (Japan) - 1:02:45 (Tokyo Legacy 2023)
Cameron Avery (New Zealand) - 1:02:50 (Gold Coast 2023)
Ed Marks (Australia) - debut - 27:57 (Launceston 10 km 2026)

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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Comments

Anonymous said…
The female Japanese runners are very well represented here. Normally, out of the Japanese contingent, I'd say Rino Goshima would be the one to watch at this distance but these days Risa Yamazaki has proven herself as someone on the rise and is improving little by little and might do so again here. It should be a good race and it will require a very good time to beat Izzy Batt-Doyle in her current form and on home turf. Looking forward to this race.
June 22, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Anonymous said…
Hope you're coming... so you get the smack in the head you deserve fro the local runner there you tried to ruin life of several times (for literally no reason other than envy)
June 22, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Brett Larner said…
Yamazaki was pretty reliably good throughout college, and her performance at Nationals was a step up for sure. I can't see her beating Batt-Doyle, but hope to see a good one from her.
June 23, 2026 at 5:00 AM
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