Earlier in the day Australia’s Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario successfully defended her title in the women’s T53/T54 wheelchair race, while the men’s version went to home athlete Johnboy Smith after his compatriot, 43-year-old David Weir, suffered a puncture while apparently en route to his first Commonwealth marathon win.

Stenson, 34, took marathon bronze at Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018, and her determination to reach the podium once more was evident from the start as she remained at the forefront of the lead group before breaking away shortly after 25 kilometres with the eventual silver and bronze medallists - Margaret Muriuki of Kenya and Namibia's defending champion, 41-year-old Helalia Johannes.

The Australian ran a huge negative split, following a first half in 75min 6sec with a second in 72:25, and her committed running over the final 5km proved too much for her rivals, with Johannes dropping off soon after 35km, and Muriuki also finding the pace too much over the final stages.

Stenson removed her sunglasses over the final kilometre of the race, revealing the effort required in her race - but her lead at 40km, almost 20sec, proved sufficient.

As she neared the noise of the finish, the smile that had been on her face earlier returned.

She claimed her historic achievement in 2 hours 27min 31sec, mouthing the words: "Thank you! Thank you!" as she closed on her great ambition to huge applause and cheering.

Muriuki was second in 2:28:00 and Johannes third in 2:28:39.

Fourth place went to Australia's 39-year-old Eloise Wellings, looking for a first medal at her fifth Commonwealth Games, who clocked 2:30:51.

Afterwards Stenson, who gave birth to a son in 2019, said that catching COVID-19 less than a month before her race had proved to be something of a blessing.

"Maybe it served me well - a bit of extra rest," she said.

"I had two complete days off and then just jogged for the rest of the week.

"My coach and the Athletics Australia medical staff were really calm and said: 'Look people have had it before and got through it. You will be fine.'

"It was good having that composure around me and my husband too, who said it was the best thing for me - extra rest."

Kiplangat crossed the line to win the men’s race in 2:10:55 with a beaming smile that would have contained a fair measure of relief given that he had taken the wrong route a few hundred metres from the end and had to turn round and backtrack, losing approximately 20sec in so doing.

Thankfully for the 22-year-old former mountain running world champion had built up a sufficient lead at that point for the miscalculation not to have proved disastrous.

The Ugandan bided his time in the chase group as Australia’s 35-year-old Liam Adams led the race well beyond halfway before having to settle eventually for fourth place in 2:13:23 behind Tanzania's Alphonce Simbu, silver medallist in 2:12:29, and Kenya’s late entrant Michael Githae, who clocked 2:13:16.

"I believe Uganda is proud of me today," said Kiplangat.

"We have been waiting for this."

"If God is good to me I believe I shall be a great man like Joshua Cheptegei and [Kenya’s double Olympic champion Eliud] Kipchoge.

"We shall keep breaking records.

"As long as we are healthy, everything is possible. 

"I'm still young and still growing.

"I believe I can be even better."

Weir, who has six Paralympic and six world wheelchair titles, had won 1500 metres gold at the Glasgow 2014 Games but was still without a Commonwealth marathon title.

He seemed about to change that after breaking away early and leading the field through 30km in 1:10:19, with a big lead.

But then a puncture to his left wheel slowed Weir's progress dramatically.

He pushed on to finish a mournful seventh, 23:53 behind the winner, Smith, who earned gold in 1:41:51 from Scotland's Sean Frame, who clocked 1:45:49 after winning a late tussle with England's Gold Coast 2018 bronze medallist Simon Lawson, third again here in 1:45:59.

"I'm feeling despair and I've never felt despair in a race before," Weir said.

"By coincidence, I was talking with my wife the other day and I said that if I had a big lead I could even afford to change a tyre.

"In the end I decided not to carry a spare... I should have gone with my gut instinct.

"Before I punctured I was flying."

De Rozario was an assured winner in the women’s T53/T54 event, finishing in 1:58:00, with England’s 21-year-old Eden Rainbow-Cooper earning silver in 1:59:45.

There were only four competitors in the field so a bronze medal was not awarded.