Usain Bolt – Fastest 100m and 200m sprints
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set the world record for the fastest 100m and 200m sprints at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. His astonishing times of 9.58 seconds (100m) and 19.19 seconds (200m) surpassed the previous records held by Tyson Gay and Michael Johnson, respectively.
Michael Phelps – Most gold medals won at a single Olympic Games
Swimmer Michael Phelps solidified his legacy at the 2016 Rio Olympics, adding his final medals to what was ultimately a staggering 23 Olympic golds across his career. Phelps surpassed the previous record held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, highlighting his unparalleled dominance in the pool. Phelps also helped break the record for the fastest four person 100-meter medley relay with his teammates.
Serena Williams – Most Grand Slam singles titles
Before she hung up her racket in 2022, tennis icon Serena Williams made history at the 2017 Australian Open by securing her 23rd Grand Slam singles title. This achievement surpassed the Open Era record held by Steffi Graf, and made Williams the athlete with the most Grand Slam singles titles in the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Most professional goals scored worldwide
Portuguese football sensation Cristiano Ronaldo achieved a historic milestone in September 2021 by becoming the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football. His feat eclipsed the previous record held by Iranian striker Ali Daei, solidifying Ronaldo’s status as a football legend. With Ronaldo still technically eligible to play for Portugal, his record of 123 goals may well yet increase.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Most points accumulated in one NBA career
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career spanned two decades, during which time he was known for his signature skyhook shot and consistency as a prolific scorer. His record-breaking feat of accumulating 38,387 points surpassed the previous record held by Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem’s scoring prowess, combined with his longevity and impact on the game, solidified his status as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Simone Biles – Most World Gymnastics Championships medals
Gymnastics phenom Simone Biles established herself as the most decorated gymnast in history at the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships. Her remarkable total of 25 medals, including 19 gold, surpassed the previous record held by Vitaly Scherbo, and solidified her status as a gymnastics legend. Given that she is just 26, her medal total may be added to yet.
Wayne Gretzky – Most points amassed in one NHL career
Wayne Gretzky, often referred to as The Great One, rewrote the NHL record books with his extraordinary scoring ability and playmaking skills. His remarkable talent of amassing 2,857 points eclipsed the previous record held by the legendary Gordie Howe. Gretzky’s impact on the sport extended far beyond his point totals, as he set numerous records and reshaped the way hockey was played.
Edwin Moses – Most consecutive 400m hurdles wins
American hurdler Edwin Moses achieved an unparalleled streak of 122 consecutive wins in the 400m hurdles between 1977 and 1987. This remarkable accomplishment, achieved across various global competitions, showcased Moses’ unprecedented dominance in the event and remains a remarkable part of track and field history.
Yelena Isinbayeva – Most pole vault world records broken
Yelena Isinbayeva’s remarkable pole vault career was marked by her incredible consistency and ability to set new world records. Her astounding achievement of 30 pole vault world records broken shattered the previous record held by Sergey Bubka, a legend in the discipline. Isinbayeva’s reign as the queen of pole vault has still yet to be matched by another athlete.
Hicham El Guerrouj – Fastest 1500 metre run
Hicham El Guerrouj’s record-breaking mile run in Rome in 1999 was a historic moment in middle-distance running. His remarkable time of 3:43.13 broke the previous world record held by Noureddine Morceli. El Guerrouj went on to have a remarkable career, winning multiple Olympic and World Championship titles and, almost 25 years later, his record still stands.
LeBron James – Highest NBA scorer
LeBron James, also known as King James, is considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in the world. He is the highest scorer in NBA history, with four NBA championship victories and ten finals, including eight consecutive appearances between 2011 and 2018. A two-time Olympic gold champion, his talents have been recognised with four Most Valuable Player Awards and four All-Star titles.
Lionel Messi – Most Ballon d’Or awards
Argentine star Lionel Messi holds the current record for Ballon d’Or awards, with seven to his name. So great is Messi’s influence, that Time Magazine have listed him among the most influential people in the world on three seperate occasions, including in 2023. He’s also notable for being the second team-sport player to earn over $1 billion from his professional career.
Jonah Lomu – Most all-time tries scored
Once described as a “freight train in ballet shoes”, rugby player Jonah Lomu was known for his extreme speed and light-footedness, despite being over six feet tall. The New Zealand star was the youngest rugby player evere to represent his country internationally, joining the All-Blacks at 19 years old. Alongside South Africa’s Bryan Habana, he shares the record for all-time try scoring, having achieved 15 in just two tournaments. He passed away due to kidney disease complications in 2015.
Roger Federer – Most Wimbledon victories
For an incredible run of 237 consecutive weeks, Roger Federer was the world’s number one singles tennis player. He’s won Wimbledon more times than anyone else, and has US Open titles and 103 titles on the ATP Tour. Still among the top ten highest paid athletes, he recently announced his semi-retirement, stating: “I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in Grand Slams or on the tour.”
Lewis Hamilton – Most career wins
Sir Lewis Hamilton is one of the most celebrated British racing drivers of all time. He has won seven World Drivers’ Championship titles, making him the leading champion, equalled only by Michael Schumacher. He has an incredible 103 wins to his name total, and has more pole positions, podium finishes, and seasons with a win than any other driver in history.
Eliud Kipchoge – Fastest marathon ran
The greatest marathon runner of all time, Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge has run five of the seven fastest marathons ever recorded. His best performance was at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, which he completed in two hours, one minute and one second. Kipchoge achieves these super-human feats by training 13 times a week, with Sunday afternoons off.
Javier Sotomayor – Highest high jump in history
Javier Sanabria is the greatest high jumper of all time, having dazzled the audience with a 2.45 (8ft 1/4 in) leap at an event in Salamanca, Spain in 1988. He proved his abilities again at the 1992 Olympics, and no one else has cleared the eight foot mark since. It’s possible that Sanabria would have won many more medals, if Cuba hadn’t abstained from the Olympics in 1984 and 1988.
Florence Griffith Joyner – Fastest female 100m sprint
Dubbed Flo-Jo, Florence Delorez Joyner made history as the fastest female track runner ever recorded. In 1988, she ran the three highest-ever 100m sprints completed by a woman in the space of two days, with a top score of 10.49s. Her achievement was so impressive that many naysayers questioned the wind speed and electronic timing accuracy, but her world record remains untouched. Tragically, Joyner passed away from an epileptic seizure at the age of 38.
Om Yun-chol – Heaviest clean and jerk in his weight class
Om Yun-chol is one of the strongest men on Earth. The son of a fisherman, he was born in Chongjin, North Korea in 1991 and survived a severe famine that ravaged the city and nation in his early childhood. Measuring 152cm and weighing 55kg, he can lift over three times his own weight and, on two occasions, he has broken his own world record for the clean and jerk of 169kg in the under-56kg weight class.
Li Wenwen – Heaviest clean and jerk in her weight class
Li Wenwen is the women’s world champion in the +87kg weightlifting category. She is in possession of the world records for clean and jerk as well as snatch. Representing China in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Wenwen won a gold medal and broke the world record by lifting 320kg.
Viktor Barna – Most world Table Tennis Championship wins
Born in Hungary in 1911, Viktor Barna was born Győző Braun, but changed his name to avoid antisemitism in his hometown. He fought in the Second World War as a British Army parachutist, and went on to become a table tennis world champion, winning a record five titles. In later life, he travelled the world to promote Dunlop products, before passing away in Lima, Peru in 1972.
Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb – First married couple to win same title on the same day
Born in 1992, Egyptian squash player Ali Farag is the world’s number one in his discipline and has been the world champion since 2018. His career began at Harvard University, where he juggled his Mechanical Engineering degree with two national college titles. Farag is married to pro squash player Nour El Tayeb, and the pair became the first wedded couple to win the same major title on the same day, at the US Open in 2017.
Evgenia Medvedeva – Highest-scoring female figure skater
A sporting prodigy from childhood, Evgenia Medvedeva went straight from winning the 2015 World Junior Championships to winning the 2016 World Senior Championships, and was the first ladies’ singles star to do so. Russian-born Medvedeva has set the ISU Judging System record on 13 different occasions. In 2021, however, she was forced into retirement due to a chronic back injury, at the age of 22.
Trischa Zorn – Most successful Paralympian
The US Paralympian swimmer Trischa Zorn suffers from the congenital eye condition aniridia, which has made her blind from birth. Having competed in seven Games between 1980 and 2004, she is the most decorated Paralympic star of all time, with an astonishing 55 medals to her name, including 41 gold.
Mikaela Shiffrin – Most Alpine Ski World Cup wins
Born in 1995 to two avid skiers, Mikaela Shiffrin started skiing at a young age. Hailing from Vail, Colorado, she trained at the Alpine Ski school Burke Mountain Academy. She went on to become the youngest slalom champion in the history of Alpine skiing at the Olympics, at just 18 years old. She currently has more World Cup wins in the discipline than any other skier, male or female.
Ty Cobb – Highest career batting average
The ‘Georgia Peach’ Ty Cobb ruled the roost in American Major League Baseball in the early 1900s, and he still holds the record for runs scored and runs batted in, as well as the highest career batting average. The star made early investments in Coca-Cola and General Motors, which allowed him to set up a college scholarship fund for Georgia natives before his death in 1961.
Katie Ledecky – Most Olympic gold medals of any female swimmer
American swimmer Katie Ledecky holds more Olympic and World Championship gold medals than any other woman, with 28 to her name. Her international debut was at the 2012 Olympic Games in London where, at the age of 15, she became the surprise winner of the women’s 800m freestyle. She is the current holder of 16 world records.
Lauryn Williams – First American woman to win summer and winter Olympic medals
The multitalented Lauryn Williams has won gold and silver medals in two Olympic disciplines: sprinting and bobsled. Only six athletes have ever won medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics, and Williams is the first American woman to have done so. She says that she moved from sprinting to bobsled because it is “a small culture that loves what it does and couldn’t care less about fame and fortune.”
Marta Vieira da Silva – Most World Cup goals
Known by the mononym Marta, this Brazilian footballer is one of the most successful footballers of all time. She has scored 115 World Cup goals, more than any other woman or man, and became the first footballer to score at five different World Cups. She was also honoured as FIFA’s World Player of the year for five consecutive years between 2006 and 2010.
Herbert Nitsch – The deepest freedive on Earth
The extraordinary Herbert Nitsch, born in 1970, is a professional freediver who broke world records in all eight of the sport’s recognised disciplines. This Austrian sportsman has broken 33 official world records, and his deepest dive to date, the 253.2 meters completed in Santorini, Greece, is the deepest ever recorded.
Larisa Latynina – Most Olympic gold medals for gymnastics
Born in Ukraine in 1934, Larisa Latynina has nine Olympic gold medals in gymnastics to her name, more than any other man or woman. She has won 18 Olympic medals in total, which made her the most decorated Olympian for 48 years, before the top spot was taken by Michael Phelps. A global icon, Latynina is known for making a name for the USSR in the world of competitive gymnastics.
Marit Bjørgen – Most decorated Winter Olympics champion
The Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen, born in 1980, holds a record 29 past victories in the Cross-Country World Cup, in addition to 15 Olympic medals. She has won the Vasaloppet, a notoriously challenging long-distance race held annually in Sweden, in addition to winning at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
Sarah Storey – Most decorated British Paralympian
Dame Sarah Storey was born without a functioning left hand, and suffered bullying during her upbringing in Manchester in the 80s. When she started swimming at ten years old, her coach told her she “started training too late to be any good at anything”. Nevertheless, Storey went on to become the most decorated British Paralympian of all time, with 28 medals in swimming as well as cycling.
Edoardo Mangiarotti – Most decorated fencer of all time
Edoardo Mangiarotti, who was born in 1919 and passed away in 2012, was raised in a family of fencing champions. The Italian star ended up winning a record-breaking 39 Olympic and World Champion medals, including team and individual awards. After a 25-year career, he retired in 1961
Lester Piggott – Most Epsom Derby wins
Lester Piggott was the English champion of the flat race, achieving 4,493 victories throughout his professional career as a jockey. Unusually tall for a jockey at 5 ft 8 in, Piggott earned the affectionate nickname ‘The Long Fellow’. He passed away in 2022, having won the Epsom Derby on nine different occasions.
Don Bradman – Highest Test batting average
Named “the greatest living Australian” by the nation’s prime minister in 1997, Sir Don Bradman was a legend in the cricketing world. He held a Test batting average of 99.94, which remains the world record and is considered to be one of the most incredible feats in sports history. Bradman used his status to speak out against Apartheid, cancelling South Africa’s 1971 Australian Cricket Tour in protest.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Most accurate puncher
Floyd Mayweather Jr was born into a family of professional boxers. Born in 1977 and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he rose to fame for his undefeated record, winning 15 world championships. According to the CompuBox computerized scoring system, he is also the most accurate puncher of all professional boxers.
Misty May-Treanor – Most successful female volleyball player
Misty May-Treanor, now retired, rose to fame as the world’s most successful beach volleyball star, with 112 tournament victories to her name. She and her teammate Kerri Walsh Jennings won gold medals at three Olympic Games, as well as three FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. She combined her training with hearty egg and bacon breakfasts, to which she has partially attributed her success.
Patrick Marleau – NHL all-time leader in games played
The former professional ice hockey forward Patrick Denis Marleau holds the NHL record for all-time leader in games played, with 1,779 games to her name total. He earned 1,197 points over the course of his astonishingly long career, of which he spent 20 seasons with the San Jose Sharks. Marleau has also received commendations for his sportsmanlike conduct and professional behaviour.
Tiger Woods – Most consecutive weeks as the global golf champion
Tiger Woods, born Eldrick Tont Woods in 1975, is considered to be one of the world’s greatest golfers. Just one year after his professional debut in 1996, he became Number One in the Official World Golf Ranking. He kept up this impressive feat for a total of 264 consecutive weeks between 1999-2004, and for 281 more weeks between 2005 and 2010.
