Sinead Diver and Brett Robinson take down Australian marathon records in historic day for athletics

It’s something we may never see again. Brett Robinson and Sinead Diver have taken down two of Athletics most coveted records within five hours of one and other. This is how they did it.

Brett Robinson and Sinead Diver have eclipsed two of Australia's longest standing athletic records in the span of five hours, as the training partners put on a true clinic in elite Marathon running

There was no script that could have read more perfect than the one followed by marathoners Brett Robinson and Sinead Diver on Sunday.

For the men, it’s taken 36-years for someone to come along and take the marathon record away from distance great Rob de Castella, and for the women it’s been 16-years to see legend Benita Willis’ record fall.

Starting the day in Fukuoka, Japan, 31-year-old Robinson toed the line in one of the world’s most prized marathons after being ranked Australia’s best marathon runner.

Being touted as one of the most likely to take down de Castella’s long standing record, Robinson was tight-lipped on his attempt to break it, explaining all he wanted was to finally nail the distance.

After being the first man to go sub 2:10 in 18 years in London two months ago, Robinson lifted the weight of expectation from his shoulders and was ambitious in his quest to go faster from there.

Brett Robinson seized the moment as he etched his name deeper into the record books during his 42.2km dominance in Fukuoka, Japan at the weekend.

“I think I should be running a few minutes quicker,” Robinson said on Tuesday before leaving for Japan, leaving his goals for the race open headed into the weekend.

“It is the marathon and it’s hard for everything to go perfect … If I nail it I can run 90 seconds to 2 minutes quicker”.

As he hit the streets of Japan it was somewhat of a masterclass in marathon running for the Melbourne local who benefited from the pacework of training partner and close mate Jack Rayner through the first half.

Hitting the halfway mark at 63:22 Robinson found himself tucked in a pack of 20 athletes and from there kept his foot on the gas pedal to motor his way through the back half of the race.

Managing to sustain his form and overcome a stomach issue which has plagued each of his marathons before this, Robinson hit the line in a new Australian record of 2:07:31. His goal was complete.

Live scenes post @brettrobinson91 Marathon @OceaniaAths Record pic.twitter.com/nytS3DI35S

— Tom O'Shaughnessy (@tomoshaughnessy) December 4, 2022

“It’s such a great feeling,” Robinson said.

“I’ve gone for this record a few times now.

“I went about my own business and I finally got it.

“I knew I was capable of it.”

Social media exploded with praise for the two time Olympian after the race, with Australiana’s greatest marathon runner of all time de Castella among them.

Congrats @brettrobinson91 - very happy to pass the Aust Record & fastest Aust marathoner to you 👏👏. Thrilled you did it @ Fukuoka with such a competitive result! https://t.co/csbcJQ4jls

— Rob de Castella (@deek207) December 4, 2022

In a show of true class, Robinson took time to pay his respects to the former record holder.

“I also want to give credit to Deeks (de Castella) for holding the record for so long,” Robinson said.

“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.”

As if one record wasn't enough, attention soon shifted to the streets of Valencia where training partner Sinead Diver was set to launch her second attempt at the record this year after a setback in Japan in March.

Diver, who finished 10th in last year’s Olympic Games, was the fourth fastest woman of all time before taking it to Spain on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Sinead Diver bounced back after a tough year on the roads, using Valencia’s perfect conditions to break the Australian Record by an entire minute.

Like a metronome, Diver found her rhythm and lived in it sitting in 13th position at the half with a 70:40 to put herself nearly one minute under Australian record pace, with the Melbourne local not looking back from there.

Being one of our most decorated athletes in recent times, Diver applied learnings from her previous record attempt at Nagoya in Japan where she was unable to finish the race.

“My lead-in to this has been really good,” Diver said.

“It was good for Japan as well, but I went out too fast and it was hot, but I knew I was ready for it this time.”

In a year where Diver finished fifth at the Commonwealth Games, the icing of the cake was always going to be breaking Willis’ record if she could pull it off.

And as she made her way down the finishing stretch, you could see just how much it meant to Diver to take the crown.

“I’ve had a few goes at it now, this was my third crack at it and every time I line up, it takes a lot,” Diver said.

“Things have to really fall into place so I’m beyond delighted that it’s happened …

this is my 14th marathon and every one of them is different.”

After taking in the magnitude of what had just happened, the athletic scene went into overdrive as history was made with the former record holder quick to sing the praises of her successor.

“An honour to hold it for so long; couldn’t have gone to a better athlete/person! Just absolutely amazing,” Willis tweeted.

Huge congrats @diversinead on your Aussie marathon record today! An honour to hold it for so long & couldn’t have gone to a better athlete / person! Just absolutely amazing!

— Benita Willis (@BenitaWillis) December 4, 2022

With a 2:21:34 finishing time, Diver not only became the national record holder but also the only women to go under 2:22, smashing Willis’ previous record by more than a minute.

Diver also eclipsed her own previous best by just under three minutes.

ICYMI: @diversinead 2:21:34 & @brettrobinson91 2:07:31 for Aus records… unbelievable day for Australia pic.twitter.com/4oGZhf3Ht5

— Mitch Dyer (@Mitchdrambles) December 4, 2022

With both record-breakers under the coaching wing of Nic Bideau, it shows homegrown talent can develop right here in Australia.

Robinson and Diver will now take time to recover from their achievements with Robinson confirmed to eye a spot on the Australian team ahead of next year’s World Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst in February.

Outside of the record-breakers, Australia’s Ed Goddard also moved himself to 35th of all time for men after his 7th place finish at the California International Marathon on Sunday with 2:13:36.

This builds on his case for moving up the order in the top 10 rankings of the current marathon crop.

Originally published as Sinead Diver and Brett Robinson take down Australian marathon records in historic day for athletics