5 Unbreakable Olympic Records
Every four years, the world watches as elite athletes push themselves to ever greater heights in search of Olympic gold — and, perhaps, even a new Olympic record. Some records, however, stand so far above the rest that they seem destined to endure forever. An “unbreakable” record, of course, is a little hard to prove, but some feats — such as the five below — are so exceptional that it seems unlikely they will be bested anytime soon.
Usain Bolt’s 100 Meters
During the 2012 London Games, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set a new Olympic record time of 9.63 seconds in the 100-meter dash. The record has yet to be beaten at the Olympics and would have represented the absolute pinnacle of human speed if it weren’t for Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, set at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin. (Bolt reached an astonishing 27.8 mph when he hit full stride.)
Bolt is a towering figure, quite literally, among his rivals. The fastest sprinters tend to be comparatively short and compact in comparison to Bolt’s frame of 6 feet, 5 inches, which allowed him to complete a 100-meter race in around 41 steps — three to four steps fewer than his competitors. His perfect technique, peak competition form, and biomechanical uniqueness may never be seen again, making it unlikely that his record will be beaten in the foreseeable future.
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Bob Beamon’s Long Jump
When Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters at the 1968 Mexico City Games, he didn’t just beat the Olympic record — he obliterated it. Prior to his jump, the record tended to be surpassed by just a few centimeters each time. But Beamon beat the existing world record by a staggering 55 centimeters, in what was soon dubbed the “leap of the century.”
Not even the judges were ready for such a feat. The electronic measuring equipment went up to only around 8.5 meters, so an old-fashioned steel tape had to be found. American athlete Mike Powell eventually broke the world record in 1991 with a jump of 8.95 meters, but Beamon’s leap is still the Olympic record more than half a century later. It remains to be seen whether it will ever be surpassed on the Olympic stage.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s Heptathlon Haul
At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Jackie Joyner-Kersee proved that while she may not have been the best in the world in any one of the heptathlon’s events, she was the best in the world at doing all seven. Finishing with 7,291 points, she beat her own previous world record, which she had set four times since 1986. At the time, no other woman had scored more than 7,000 points — but Joyner-Kersee had done it five times. Almost four decades later, her Olympic record still stands.
In 2005, reigning heptathlon Olympic gold medalist Carolina Kluft said that Joyner-Kersee’s record was “probably unbeatable.” That may well be true, but American athlete Anna Hall is intent on trying. In 2025, Hall scored 7,032 at a competition in Austria, which is tied for the second-highest scorer ever — but still 259 points behind the Olympic and world record. She’s certainly receiving good advice in her quest for the record, as her mentor is none other than Jackie Joyner-Kersee herself.
Nadia Comăneci’s Perfect 10
In 1976, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to earn a perfect score of 10 at the Olympic Games. She was only 14 years old when she competed at the Montreal Olympics and got a perfect score on the uneven bars. It was so unexpected that even the scoreboards weren’t prepared. Being unable to display the four digits required for 10.00, they instead had to display each judge’s score as 1.00.
Incredibly, Comăneci went on to record a perfect 10 six more times, while also becoming the youngest all-around Olympic gold medalist. Though other Olympic gymnasts have scored a perfect 10 since then, there will never be another first.
Michael Phelps’ 28 Olympic Medals
American swimmer Michael Phelps won an amazing 28 Olympic medals during his career, a feat that may well be impossible to surpass. A staggering 23 of those medals were gold — more than double the count of his nearest rivals. The previous record holder for the most Olympic medals accumulated was (and still is) Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals (nine of them gold) from 1956 to 1964.
After a long and glorious career, Phelps hung up his Speedos and retired after the 2016 Games, fairly secure in the knowledge that his reign of dominance — and his medal haul — may not be surpassed by any future Olympian.
