A Ranking of the Most Impressive Feats in Sports History
Some achievements in sports stand apart because they changed what people thought was physically possible. They happened in real competition, under real pressure, and the results still look unmatched even decades later.
This list focuses on the rare performances that redefined the standard for everyone who came after.
Tom Brady Erases 28-3 In The Super Bowl
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Alexander Jonesi
In Super Bowl LI, the New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons 28–3 late in the third quarter. Tom Brady then completed 43 passes for 466 yards, both Super Bowl records, and led five scoring drives to win 34–28.
Alex Ovechkin Passes Wayne Gretzky
On April 6, 2025, Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal for the Washington Capitals, moving past Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. He did it on a power play against the New York Islanders and reached the milestone in exactly 1,487 games, the same total Gretzky played. For more than thirty years, people in the hockey world treated Gretzky’s record as something no one would ever touch. Seeing it finally break felt like watching a monument that had always seemed permanent begin to shift.
Serena Williams Wins A Major While Pregnant
Image via Wikimedia Commons/AndrewHenkelman
In January 2017, Serena Williams won the Australian Open singles title without losing a set, earning her 23rd Grand Slam singles crown. Months later, the public learned she had been about eight weeks pregnant during that run in Melbourne. Winning a major tournament while carrying a future human, across two weeks of best-of-three matches, through tough early rounds and a final against an elite opponent, sits in a category that barely feels comparable to anything in tennis history.
Secretariat’s 31-Length Belmont Destruction
At the 1973 Belmont Stakes, American thoroughbred racehorse Secretariat completed the mile-and-a-half in 2:24, an American record that still stands, and won by 31 lengths. The field disappeared from the television broadcast as Secretariat extended the gap. Half a century later, trainers and breeders still measure potential against that afternoon.
Simone Biles Redefines Gymnastics In Stuttgart
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Ocoudis
At the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Simone Biles won five gold medals out of six events and became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history with 25 medals.
Bob Beamon Flies Past The Long Jump Record
During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters, or 29 feet 2.5 inches, in the long jump final. The previous world record had stood at 8.35 meters, and no one had ever passed it by more than a few inches. Beamon added nearly two feet. His record stood for 23 years. The jump stunned officials so much that the electronic board needed time to process the distance. When Beamon finally learned the mark in feet, his legs gave out, and he collapsed in shock.
Usain Bolt Rewrites Sprinting In Berlin
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
At the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Usain Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.58 seconds and 200 meters in 19.19 seconds, both of which remain world records as of 2025. Analysts still break down the 60–80 meter segment of that 100 meters, where Bolt hit about 27.8 miles per hour, to understand how the human body moves that fast in a straight line.
Michael Phelps’ Eight-Gold Olympics
In Beijing in 2008, Michael Phelps won eight gold medals, surpassing Mark Spitz’s long-standing record of seven at a single Games. It wasn’t just the medal count that made the run historic. Seven of Phelps’ races ended with world records, and each final seemed to raise the bar for what swimmers believed was possible.
Eliud Kipchoge Breaks The Two-Hour Marathon Barrier
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Denis Barthel
On October 12, 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran 26.2 miles in 1:59:40 during the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, with rotating pacemakers and bike-delivered drinks. The setup meant the time did not qualify as an official world record, yet it made him the first person to complete a marathon in under two hours.
Alex Honnold Free Solos El Capitan
On June 3, 2017, Alex Honnold climbed the 2,900-foot Freerider route on El Capitan in Yosemite without a rope, finishing in 3 hours 56 minutes. The climb involved long sections of hard granite, including a boulder problem near the top where a single misplacement would have been fatal.