Brett Robinson and Sinead Diver have broken Australia’s long-standing marathon records within hours of each other.

Robinson finally eclipsed the mark set by distance running legend Rob de Castella, which had stood since five years before he was born.

After Robinson made his breakthrough at the Fukuoka International Marathon in Japan, Diver broke the Australian women’s record at Spain’s Valencia Marathon.

Robinson, 31, finished fourth at Fukuoka in two hours seven minutes 31 seconds, breaking de Castella’s record by 20 seconds.

The record had stood since de Castella won the 1986 Boston Marathon in 2:07:51.

Robinson, a two-time Olympian, beat his personal best by two minutes 21 seconds.

Then Diver, 45, clocked 2:21:34 in Valencia to beat the 2:22:36 set by Benita Willis in 2006 at the Chicago Marathon.

Diver broke her personal best by nearly three minutes after finishing 10th at the Tokyo Olympics.

Robinson had again struggled with a persistent stitch, having suffered from the same problem when 66th last year at the Olympics.

But in October, he became only the sixth Australian to join the sub-2:10 club when he finished the London Marathon in 2:09:52.

“It’s such a great feeling. I’ve gone for this record a few times now, and it’s funny – I always talk about going for it before a race,” Robinson said.

“But I didn’t mention it to anyone this time around. I went about my own business and I finally got it. I knew I was capable of it.

“The current crop of Australian athletes are smashing records at the moment, and this was one of the last long-standing ones for us to tick off, so it means a lot to me to finally get this today.”

While Robinson suffered another stitch on Sunday, he has learned to overcome the problem.

Steve Moneghetti, whose 2:08:16 is now the third-best Australian time, paid tribute to Robinson.

“It’s not a surprise that he’s broken the record because his progression has shown he has been capable of doing this, but this is just terrific. To be so competitive with a fourth place finish shows what he can do on the world stage too,” Moneghetti said.

“I also want to give credit to Deeks for holding the record for so long. We’ve been waiting for it to be broken for so many years now, and we need to acknowledge just how hard it’s been for anyone to get even close.”

Robinson and Diver are training partners under coach Nic Bideau.

“Benita is Australia’s best runner of all time so it’s an honour to now have this record. I couldn’t be prouder today,” Diver said.

“I actually didn’t know if I wanted to know if he (Robinson) got it when I woke up this morning … but as we were walking over to the start line, someone asked if I had heard about his record, and I got a rush of excitement. I was so happy to know it before I started running.”

AUSTRALIAN MEN’S SUB-2:10 MARATHONS

1. Brett Robinson, 2:07.31 – Fukuoka, Japan (4/11/22)

2. Rob de Castella, 2:07.51 – Boston (21/4/86)

3. Steve Moneghetti, 2:08:16 – Berlin (30/9/90)

4. Derek Clayton, 2:08.33.6 – Antwerp, Belgium (30/5/69)

5. Pat Carroll, 2:09.39 – Beppu-Oita, Japan (5/2/95)

6. Lee Troop, 2:09:49 – Lake Biwa, Japan (2/5/03)

TOP AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S MARATHON TIMES

1. Sinead Diver, 2:21:34 – Valencia, Spain (4/12/22)

2. Benita Willis, 2:22:36 – Chicago (22/10/06)

3. Lisa Ondieki, 2:23:51 – Osaka, Japan (31/1/88)