On Sunday, April 6, the Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in the NHL, breaking the legendary “greatest hockey player of all-time” Wayne Gretsky’s record and putting Ovechkin in a class of his own as the league’s all-time leading goal-scorer.
With record-breaking sports feats in the air, it’s time to revisit the most impressive individual athletic accomplishments of the past decade.
10. Chloe Kim and Red Gerard Win Gold at Pyeongchang Olympics (2018)
Chloe Kim and Red Gerard have more than heavily decorated snowboarding careers in common. They also both won their first Olympic gold medals at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 when they were each only 17 years old. This feat made them the youngest Olympic gold medalists ever in their respective events. Kim displayed her talents in the half-pipe event, putting up a score of 93.75 out of a hundred on her first of three runs. None of the other competitors were able to top even that score, but instead of using her last run as a victory lap, Kim won her first gold medal in dazzling fashion, topping her first score and earning a near-perfect 98.25. Gerard won his gold in the slopestyle event, earning an 87.16 on his last run, putting him ahead of Max Parrot and Mark McMorris for first place. What spectacular and complex tricks solidified his final score? As Gerard put it: “Spins. They’re just spins. A whole bunch of spins.”
9. Max Verstappen Wins the World Championship (2021)
The stage was set, the engines were roaring, and the drivers were ready. For Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, it was winner-takes-all in Abu Dhabi, the last Grand Prix of the 2021 season. It was the race of a lifetime. Hamilton, who had won the last three races to claw himself back into championship contention, had 58 laps standing between him and a record-breaking eighth consecutive world championship. After overtaking Verstappen to lead the race early on, it looked like he would achieve what had never been done before in Formula 1 history. But with five laps to go, Nicholas Latifi crashed and a safety car was deployed. With five lapped cars standing between Verstappen and Hamilton, it looked like Hamilton, driving for Mercedes, would easily secure another championship — that was until Race Director Michael Masi made one of the most controversial and consequential decisions in F1 history. He let the five lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton, and only those lapped cars, overtake the safety car, clearing the path for Verstappen to be right behind Hamilton for the final lap. One lap remained to decide the world champion of 2021. After diving into turn five, Verstappen passed Hamilton and took the lead in the race. Amid fireworks, outrage and elation, he won his first world championship in a spectacular and controversial race that will live on in the sport’s history for decades to come.
8. American Pharoah Wins the Triple Crown (2015)
It had been 37 years since the world had seen a Triple Crown Champion in horse racing. The Triple Crown consists of three race victories for three-year-old thoroughbred horses: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. In a gate-to-wire victory at Belmont in 2015, American Pharoah, trained by Bob Baffert, became the 12th Triple Crown winner in history.
7. Ronaldo’s Greatest Goal (2018)
For most of his career, Cristiano Ronaldo completely dominated the UEFA Champions League. In 2018, he was the league’s top scorer, and, on the international circuit, he scored a hat-trick against Spain in the FIFA World Cup. But in a season of dominance, perhaps his most impressive accomplishment was when he scored one of the most iconic goals in soccer history in the Champions League Quarterfinal against Juventus, where he leaped in the air and netted a picture-perfect bicycle kick, stunning everyone on the field.
6. LeBron’s Game Six (2012)
After joining the Miami Heat in 2010, LeBron James still had a point to prove. An embarrassing upset in the 2011 NBA Finals left the Dallas Mavericks victorious, and the Heat desperate for a championship. During the next postseason, Miami started strong in the Eastern Conference finals, winning the first two games. The Boston Celtics bounced back to win the next three games in the series, and a Game Six loss and playoff elimination was quickly looming over the Heat. That was, at least, until James stepped onto the court. He tallied 30 points by halftime, putting his team up by 13. James went on to win two consecutive championships with the Heat following a performance that solidified his all-star status in NBA history.
5. Brady Comes Back (2016)
The New England Patriots were losing so badly in Super Bowl LI that the Boston Globe called the game before it was even over. But it was always a fool’s errand to underestimate Tom Brady. New England was suffering from a 25-point deficit in the second half against the Atlanta Falcons, but Brady, in an unthinkable turn of events, passed for 466 yards and two touchdowns to bring the Patriots back to tie the Falcons in the final minute of play. In a nail-biting overtime, Brady threw for 50 yards before handing it off to running back James White, who secured the game-winning touchdown and a Super Bowl championship in one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
4. Nadal Wins the French Open Again (2017)
Spain’s Rafael Nadal is viewed as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and possibly the greatest clay-court player ever. With a leading role in the “Big Three” era in tennis, he has accumulated 22 Grand Slam titles over the course of his career. In 2017, he won his tenth French Open and became the first men’s player to reach double-digit titles in a single slam.
3. Usain Bolt is Still the Fastest Man Alive (2016)
During the Summer 2016 Rio Olympics, Usain Bolt became the first sprinter in history to win the triple-triple: that is, winning three gold medals in three events in three consecutive Olympic games. He went on to finish his career undefeated in final races, solidifying his status as one of the best sprinters of all time. (His top speed, in case you were wondering, was 27.8 mph in 2009.)
2. Simone Biles Breaks Records (2019)
At the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Germany, Simone Biles won five gold medals. She became the first gymnast in 60 years to achieve such a feat at a single world championship and became the most decorated gymnast of all time. Biles won her fifth all-around world championship, two more than the previous record-hold, by the largest margin of victory ever. Her total medal count is 25, and her place in history is undeniably cemented.
1. Michael Phelps Dominates (2012)
Swimmer Michael Phelps is one of the greatest athletes of all time. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, he solidified his status as the winningest Olympian, earning five gold medals and one silver medal. By the end of his Olympic career, he had won 28 medals — two bronze, three silver and 23 gold. His gold medal count alone is more than double that of his closest swimming competitors.
