With the Paris Olympics in full swing, the word ‘record’ is being thrown around a lot.
Every four years, a plethora of world and Olympic records are broken, although there are those records across all sports which have stood the test of time.
With that in mind, NetBet has decided to take a look at five of the craziest records in sports history, ones which may not be broken for a lifetime.
Usain Bolt: 100m World Record
As the Olympic Games is the focus of the sporting world right now, it feels only right to start with the greatest sprinter in the event’s history.
Jamaican track and field legend Bolt holds the record for the quickest 100m run at the Olympics, completing the distance in 9.63 seconds at London 2012 as he won perhaps the greatest final ever seen.
However, that incredible time is not even Bolt’s quickest.
At the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Bolt clocked a quite astonishing time of 9.58 seconds.
No one else in history has run faster than 9.69 seconds, so this world record looks set to remain in place for many, many more years to come.
Lionel Messi: Most Goals in a Calendar Year
In 2012, Lionel Messi was at the peak of his footballing powers. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was virtually unstoppable in a Barcelona side containing the likes of Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, David Villa and many other legends of the game.
With such a great supporting cast, Messi decided to achieve a feat many thought impossible, dethroning Gerd Muller as the player with the most goals in a calendar year.
Muller’s record of 85 had been in place since 1972, until Messi decided to fire in 91 from 69 official matches for Barca and Argentina in 2012, an average of a goal every four days across a whole year – outrageous stuff.
To put that number into context, Cristiano Ronaldo’s highest total in a calendar was the 69 he bagged in 2013.
No player, even goalscoring machine Erling Haaland, is usurping Messi any time soon.
Donald Bradman: Highest Test Batting Average
When a batsman averages over 50 in Test matches, they are viewed as a great – and rightly so.
And that is what makes Bradman’s record all the more remarkable.
The Australian cricket legend averaged 99.94 with the bat across 52 Test matches, notching 29 centuries and top scoring with 334. Had he not been clean bowled for a duck by Englishman Eric Hollies in his final Test, his average would have been over 100.
Aside from that one very minor negative, Bradman finished with 6,996 runs to his name in the Test arena – and his first-class numbers are quite frankly ridiculous.
In 234 first-class outings, he racked up 28,067 runs at an average of 95.14, as well as 117 centuries and a top score of 452 not out. No wonder he is referred to as ‘The Don’, eh?
Michael Phelps: Most Olympic Gold Medals
Another Olympic-themed inclusion, there is a reason why most consider Phelps to be the greatest Olympian in history.
The American swimmer won 23 gold medals across his incredible Olympic career, which ranged from Athens 2004 right up to Rio 2016.
No one else in the history of the Summer Olympics has reached double figures for gold medals.
In total, Phelps finished with a record 28 Olympic medals from various individual and team swimming events.
Good luck trying to break his records…
Roger Federer: Most Consecutive Weeks at No1
We end with an outrageous display of consistency from one of the greatest sportsmen in history.
From February 2004 to August 2008, Federer sat at the top of the ATP rankings during what was a very competitive era.
That is 237 weeks in a row, far and away the longest streak in tennis history.
Novak Djokovic, a serial Grand Slam winner like Federer, can only boast a streak of 122 weeks between July 2014 and November 2016.
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