Introducing Eat for You Ambassador Jess Stenson!

Jess’s passion for running was ignited as a child in her hometown of Naracoorte in South Australia’s south east. Becoming an Olympian was a childhood dream and it was Jess's two siblings, Abbie and Jack, who inspired her to chase this goal in her early twenties.

​Her rise in Australian distance running started with victories in Adelaide’s City Bay Fun Run, Australian Cross Country Championships, the Melbourne Half Marathon and Sydney’s iconic City2Surf. These road and cross-country races built a strong foundation for her brave debut at the Marathon distance in Nagoya Japan, March 2012. 

​Jess’s performance in Japan was the fastest ever debut Marathon by an Australian woman. Stopping the clock at 2.31.02, almost a full minute under the A-Qualifying standard, Jess secured her spot on the Australian Olympic team. Jess ran her second ever Marathon at the 2012 London Olympic Games clocking an impressive 2.31.17, to cross the line in 39th place. 

​Jess then had a standout performance at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Continuing Australia’s proud record in the women’s Marathon, Jess surged home to claim the bronze medal, finishing behind two experienced Kenyan runners. In 2016 Jess placed 21st in the Rio Olympics Marathon.

​Jess believes that injury challenges in 2014 and 2016 helped her to train smarter and become a more resilient athlete. She was able to raise the bar in 2017 by setting a new PB of 2:27:01 in the 2017 London Marathon and finished 9th at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London; the highest ever place by an Australian female in a World Championship Marathon. In one of her toughest but most satisfying Marathons to date, Jess won her second consecutive Commonwealth Games Bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. She went on to place second at the Gold Coast Marathon 10 weeks later and set a new personal best of 2h 25m 59s at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October of 2018. 

In November 2019 Jess and her husband Dylan welcomed their first child, Billy, into the world and like all our amazing working Mums out there, she shares her sporting career with her role as a parent. Off the training track, she works part-time as a Physiotherapist, where she is particularly interested in biomechanics, training load and functional movement. 

In July 2022, Jess won GOLD in the women's marathon at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games with a time of 2.27.31!

Jess lives and breathes a healthy, wholesome lifestyle and so she is the perfect choice to represent Eat for You.