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They said these records would last forever — they were wrong! Join us as we count down some of the most legendary sports records that were once considered completely unbreakable, until the next generation of athletic greatness came along and shattered them into pieces. Which broken record surprised you the most?
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00:00It is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 10 sports records that seem like they would stand the test of
00:10time, right up until they were broken.
00:11And that's how Roger Bannister, the 25-year-old medical student, became the first man in the world to run
00:17a mile in under four minutes.
00:21Sebastian Saway's under-two-hour marathon. We can barely run a mile in under two hours. Alright, maybe that's a
00:26slight exaggeration.
00:27We might be seeing history in the making. I might be eating all my words I said earlier on. I
00:31did not think the world record was under threat.
00:33But this record is undoubtedly one of the most impressive athletic feats in recent history.
00:37During the 2026 London Marathon, Saway blew spectators away when he crossed the finish line with a final time of
00:43one hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds.
00:46It's Saway versus the clock. He's gonna do it. We are gonna see a legal sub-two-hour marathon to
00:53Sebastian Saway.
00:54It's the world record by nearly a minute.
00:59This broke the existing world record, becoming the fastest recorded marathon time in history.
01:03His magnificent speed and unbelievable athleticism has been applauded by fans across the globe,
01:08but especially in his home country of Kenya, where he was greeted with grand celebrations for his accomplishment.
01:13I'm feeling so excited. I'm happy for yesterday's results, being the fastest man of this year, 2026.
01:26Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA career scoring record.
01:29The longevity of the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was perfectly matched by his incredible consistency.
01:33Across his 20 seasons in the league, he managed to score a staggering 38,387 points,
01:39enough to make him a 19-time All-Star.
01:41We'd just like to say thank you for letting us share in your great, great career.
01:47It was believed that his record would never be matched, and if so,
01:49that it could only be done by a generational talent with some incredible staying power.
01:53Jump forward to 2023, where this era's hero, LeBron James, managed to finally do the unthinkable,
01:58overtaking the Icons total.
01:59James is shot in history, and there it is!
02:04LeBron stands alone!
02:07Like Kareem, LeBron is setting a new benchmark for longevity in basketball,
02:10leading many to believe that his new record will take even longer to beat.
02:13Don't hold your breath on that one, folks.
02:15LeBron, you are the NBA's all-time scoring leader.
02:22Congratulations!
02:32Emmitt Smith's all-time rushing peak.
02:34When Walter Payton finished his 13th season career in 1987, he had set a new standard for
02:39running backs.
02:40There's never going to be anybody that can pay to Walter Payton.
02:43When I'm through playing football, I want to be known as a player that whenever he was
02:46out there on the field, every play, he gave everything that he had.
02:50He managed to rush for at least 1,200 yards in 10 out of his 13 seasons, only failing
02:54to do so once in non-lockout-shortened campaigns.
02:56Sweetness was truly one of the best to ever do it, leaving the sport with a total of 16,726
03:02yards.
03:02You wonder how far 16,000 yards or whatever that is, watch this.
03:07If he were going up Mount Everest, he could go all the way up Mount Everest, then he could
03:12come back and go halfway up and again.
03:15Now that is a career.
03:17However, when Emmitt Smith came on the scene in the 90s, it was clear that he was gunning
03:20for that title.
03:21When the dust eventually settled, he had managed to blow that record out of the water, posting
03:25a career total of a staggering 18,355.
03:29Emmitt Smith has eclipsed Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time rushing leader, and somewhere
03:37sweetness is smiling.
03:40The torch is passed.
03:42Long live the king!
03:44Big George finally gets overtaken.
03:46For a lesser man, getting beaten by Muhammad Ali back in 1974 would have been the peak
03:50of his career.
03:51Another sneaky right hand.
03:52This time he works over the shoulder.
03:54This is a combination!
03:59George Foreman would eventually prove that he was cut from a different cloth, though.
04:03Retiring from this sport before eventually mounting a comeback that lasted well into his
04:0640s.
04:07At 45 years old, he knocked out the heavily favored Michael Maurer to become the oldest champion
04:11in boxing history.
04:12Once again, heavyweight champion of the world, Big George Foreman!
04:24It seemed like Foreman would hold that title for quite some time, until the great Bernard
04:28Hopkins came along and won light heavyweight gold at 46 and then later at 49.
04:32The idea of anyone coming close to Hopkins ever again seems even less likely, but history
04:36tells us that any record that can be set can be broken.
04:38Hopkins has built an all-time great career, defusing younger, stronger fighters who felt
04:44it was their time.
04:45Johnny Unitas' consecutive games with a touchdown pass.
04:48In many ways, Johnny Unitas and his golden arm served as a prototype for the modern-day
04:51quarterback.
05:02It wasn't just on a surface level, though.
05:04Unitas certainly had the numbers to back it all up.
05:06In a period of time between 1956 and 1960, he set the record for consecutive games in which
05:11he threw a touchdown pass with 47.
05:13From 1957 through 1960, Johnny U set a record by throwing at least one touchdown pass in
05:2147 consecutive games.
05:24That record still stands, and no one has ever come close to breaking it.
05:31This was considered an unbreakable record for the next half century, right up until Drew
05:35Brees hit a hot streak that left him with 54 games.
05:37A feat like this needs a combination of elite talent, consistency, and durability to even
05:42come within touching distance.
05:44Brees was fortunate enough to be blessed with all of these traits.
05:47Drew Brees setting one of those records for the ages.
05:51Pele's Brazil Men's International Goal Record.
05:54The actual amount of goals that the mighty Pele scored during his career has been a source
05:57of debate for years.
06:03Some say he's scored over a thousand, others say it's a bit lower.
06:05It's unanimously agreed that he scored a lot, though, make no mistake.
06:08His international goal tally of 77 was seen as a benchmark for internationals' scoring
06:13for decades, especially during an era where less games were played.
06:21Jumping forward to 2023, the modern superstar Neymar finally rose up and broke the record,
06:25cementing his position as a Brazilian international legend.
06:28Sure, there are many who claim that Neymar's career under-delivered in some ways, but nobody
06:31can take this slice of history away from him.
06:44Martina Navratilova's Grand Slam Titles Record We could've gone with Pete Sampras' Grand
06:47Slam record and the man who eventually surpassed it, but for our money, our final pick edges
06:52it out.
06:52Nobody won more championships than Martina.
06:56It just didn't happen.
06:57The run that led to Martina Navratilova's Grand Slam title tally of 18 singles titles
07:02made her a legend 10 times over.
07:03Her dominance in the 1980s, built on fitness, serve and volley tactics and professionalism,
07:08set a new standard for athletic preparation in women's tennis.
07:10I could go on and on about the numbers, but it's about the heart and the spirit of the
07:14soul of Martina Navratilova.
07:16When Serena Williams eventually climbed up and beat her record, she did so as a representative
07:20of the modern era, taking her own total to 19.
07:23These two occupy a place in tennis history that only a handful of players will ever reach.
07:32Jesse Owens Men's Long Jump World Record
07:34No list of the greatest athletes of all time would be complete without a mention for the
07:38track and field superstar Jesse Owens.
07:40He was a trailblazing force in the 1930s who left an incredible mark on the culture of 20th
07:44century sports.
07:45His legendary long jump record of 8.13 meters in 1935 was considered to be utterly
07:50impenetrable after it was set.
07:52That ended up being the case for the next 25 years until Ralph Faustin managed to pull
07:56off a leap of 8.21 meters.
07:58The limits of long jumping have since pushed the record agonizingly close to the 9 meter
08:02mark, but Owens' original impact cannot be understated.
08:05Babe Ruth's career home run record.
08:07Although Cal Ripken Jr.'s breaking of Lou Gehrig's Iron Horse streak was in contention,
08:11we eventually decided to go down a different route.
08:13Every place he went, every field he played on, people came to see this monumental figure.
08:20The crowd started cheering as he walked out of the dugout.
08:23There was a joy that you had come to see something and then when you saw it, he'd scream with
08:28delight.
08:29Over the course of his iconic career, Babe Ruth managed to post 714 career home runs, changing
08:34the game in the process, allowing it to move closer to its modern iteration.
08:38As a player, he had no peer.
08:40His 714 home runs and .342 lifetime batting average more than qualified him to be among
08:47the first five players inducted into the Hall of Fame.
08:50It took nearly 40 years for Hank Aaron to move within touching distance of Ruth's total.
08:54When he did, it was an almighty achievement.
08:56To this day, the only players who have scored more home runs than Ruth are Aaron and Barry
09:00Bonds.
09:00And it doesn't look like their exclusive club will get a new member any time soon.
09:04What a marvelous moment for baseball, what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state
09:11of Georgia, what a marvelous moment for the country and the world.
09:15Roger Bannister's Four Minute Mile.
09:17The idea of someone breaking the four minute mile was more of a psychological barrier to
09:20charge through than a true record.
09:22The most sought after target in athletics, the four minute mile, was achieved yesterday
09:26evening on the Oxford University track at . . .
09:28After a strong showing in the 1952 Olympics, Roger Bannister decided to commit himself to
09:32doing that, which was considered impossible.
09:34Just two years later, he made the attempt that would ultimately leave him with a time of
09:37three minutes and 59.4 seconds.
09:39The tape is broken, and so is the record athletes have long been dreaming about.
09:43But at first, Bannister knows little about it.
09:45He stumbles into the arms of his coach, completely exhausted by his magnificent effort.
09:49Although his own record stood for just 46 days, the fact that he made that push and achieved
09:54the unthinkable allowed him to open the door for many others who have since achieved a sub-four-minute time.
09:58Well, all I can say is that I'm absolutely overwhelmed and delighted.
10:02It was a great surprise to me to be able to do it today, and I think I was very
10:06lucky.
10:12Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's album, Balance.
10:17Classical music reimagined as rock, hard rock, and metal.
10:20Check out the full track and album below.
10:38Mark Spitz's Seven Olympic Gold Medals in a Single Games
10:42The 1972 Olympic Games saw Mark Spitz put on not just one of the most dominant displays in Olympic history,
10:47but in all of modern sport, period.
10:49His seven gold medals haul was unlike anything we had seen before,
10:52and in the eyes of most people, an outlier event that would never come close to being surpassed.
10:56Thankfully, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing served as a legacy-defining tournament for the great Michael Phelps.
11:01He came into this campaign with some insane momentum,
11:03following through on it to pick up a staggering eight gold medals.
11:06Sure, Phelps benefited from advancements in modern sports science and recovery protocols,
11:10but even among his own generation, he was a freakishly talented athlete.
11:14But what current record do you believe will still be intact 100 years from now?
11:17Let us know in the comments below.
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