The world of sport is filled with lots of excitements which come with the anticipation of match fixtures and results, surprises and disappointments.
Also new records are set and broken from time to time by some individuals who have distinguished themselves in their chosen area of sport and have become not only world figures but a house name. Their achievement and feat is worthy of celebration.
Here are some of the best record-breakers in different areas of sports:
1. Usain Bolt
Jamaican Bolt remains the fastest man in the world. He ran 9.69 seconds in the final of the 100 meters race at the BeijingOlympics in 2008. He also broke his personal best record at the World Championship in Athletics in Berlin, in 2009, running 9.58 seconds. He was the first to achieve a “double double” by winning 100m and 200m titles at consecutive Olympics, (in 2008 and 2012). He is the highest paid athlete ever in track and field.
2. Rory Mcilroy
The northern Irish golfer and the current number one ranked player, simultaneously broke the record for the Lowest score to par in a US Open, shooting 16-under with a scorecard boasting 268 (65-66-68-69).
3. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Unbeaten heavyweight boxer Mayweather’s fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September 2013 is rated as “the highest selling pay-view boxing match of all time”. The bout raked in a staggering $150,000,000 (91,812,400 pounds). Mayweather is unbeaten in his professional career.
4. Roger Federer
Federer is recognized as “the most Grand Slam single titles (17), most Grand Slam matches won (265) and most weeks’ ranked world No.1 (302)”. The Swiss No.1 tennis player is now the most powerful sportsstar in the world, ranked No.8 on Forbes’ list, taking the mantle from NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
Reigning FIFA Ballon d’Or winner and UEFA Best Player of the Year in Europe, Ronaldo, bagged the recognition for the “Most Champions League goals in a calendar year”, after scoring 15 goals during 2013, and the one “with Most Twitter followers “‘ now in excess of 55 million.
6. Asmir Begovic
Stoke City goalkeeper, Begovic has been honored with the official world record for the “longest goal scored in football” after his stunning strike at home to Southampton in 2013/2014 season. The Bosnia-Herzegovina goalkeeper’s bizarre kick forward within just 13 seconds of his side’s 1-1 draw against Southampton in November 2013 — measured at 91.9 meters, or 301 feet, 6 inches- has been entered into the Guinness World Records 2015 Book.
7. Tiger Woods
Born Eldrick Tont Woods has broken numerous golf records. He has been world number one for the most consecutive weeks, and for the greatest total number of weeks of any other golfer. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record eleven times, and has the record of leading the money list in ten (10) different seasons. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour.
Woods is the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row, accomplishing the feat in the 2000/ 2001 seasons.
In 2009, Forbes confirmed that Woods was indeed the world’s first athlete to earn over a billion dollars in his career!
8. Miroslav Klose
Klose is the all-time German football national team top scorer, with 71 goals. He excelled at the FIFA World Cup where he is the overall top scorer in its history with 16 goals, beating Ronaldo de Lima of Brazil (who was previously the World Cup leading scorer at 15 goals), to it. He is as well the only player to have scored at least 4 goals in 3 different tournaments.
The German team never lost a game in which Klose has scored. He also became the first player ever to score 5 headers in a World Cup. He scored his record 16th World Cup goal against Brazil in the semi-finals (in Brazil 2014 World Cup).
He also set another record by becoming the first player to appear in four World Cup semi-finals. He is also the only player to have had 4 FIFA World Cup medals, and likewise being the only player to have had 17 wins in FIFA World Cups.
9. Michael Jordan
Jordan was acclaimed the greatest basketball player of all time. He played a total of 15 NBA seasons in his professional career, at Chicago Bulls (13), and Washington Wizards (2). He was 5 time NBA Most Valuable Player. He was ranked No 1 by SLAM Magazine’s Top 50 players of all time. He also ranked No1 by ESPN Sports century’s Top North American Athletes of the 20th century.
He was the only player in NBA history to win Rookie of the Year, Defensive player of the Year MVP, All-Star MVP, and Finals MVP. He led the Chicago Bulls to the best regulars season record in NBA history (72 wins, 10 losses).
Jordan is the only player to score 40+ (Goals), at age 40 or older. He is the only player in NBA history to record back-to-back 50 point games in the playoffs, scoring 50 and 55 in Games 1 and 2 against the Cavaliers. Jordan also has the record of being the oldest player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game (38 yrs, 315 days, 51points, in December 29, 2001).
10. Ronaldo de Lima
The Brazilian football legend, Ronaldo was the youngest winner of the FIFA Player of the Year award at the age of 20. He was also the first player to have won the award 3 times (1996, 1997, and 2002). He again became the first player to win the FIFA award in two consecutive times (1996 and 1997). On the other hand, Italian Fabio Cannavaro was the oldest player to win this FIFA award, at the age of 33, in 2006.
11. Blessing Okagbare
She is a Nigerian track and field athlete who specializes in long jumping and short sprints. She is an Olympic and world championship medalist in the long jump, and a world medalist in the 200 meters. She also holds the Women’s 100 meters Commonwealth Games record for the fastest time at 10.85 seconds. Her 100m best of 10.79 makes her the African Record holder for the event. She was the African 100 m and long jump champion in 2010. She has also won medals at the All African Games and the IAAF Continental Cup.
On July 27, 2013, at the London Anniversary Games. Okagbare set a new African Record of 10.86 s in her 100 m race. She won the final about an hour later, setting a new African record of 10.79, in a race where she beat reigning 100 m Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Frazer-Pryce. Okagbare’s record eclipsed the existing record by compatriot Glory Alozie of 10.90 s which had stood since 1998.
In 2014 Commonwealth Games, Okagbare participated in both the 100m and 200m races. She made it through to the finals of the 100m and won with a time of 10.85, breaking the games record of 10.91 seconds set by Debbie Fergusson McKenzie 12 years earlier, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Okagbare also won the gold medal in the 200m, with a time of 22.25 seconds. In doing so, she became the fourth woman to win the 100m and 200m double at the Commonwealth Games.
12. Kei Nishikori
He is a Japanese professional tennis player, ranked world No. 8 as of September 8, 2014. He is the only Japanese tennis player ever to be ranked inside the top 10 in ATP Singles Ranking. He began playing tennis at the age of five and qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles at the age of 17. Nishikori was named ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2008.
He has won five singles titles, and was runner-up at the 2014 US Open, making him the first ever male player from an Asian country to reach a Grand Slam singles final. Nishikori was also runner-up in the Madrid Masters in 2014.
