Top 10 Unbreakable Olympics Records

For any of the modern Olympic Games, the United States is a strong contender to end up at the top of the medal count once everything’s said and done. Their greatest output, though, was at the 1904 St. Louis Games where they won a whopping 239 medals. The nation with the second most medals won was Germany with 15. Granted there were only 13 participating nations but still it’s an absurd amount that will be very difficult to beat. There is a bit of controversy concerning the nationalities of some American athletes who recently immigrated to the U.S. for the 1904 Games but still no nation has won more than 200 medals in a given Olympic Games.

Table tennis, also known as ping pong, was introduced as an Olympic sport at the 1988 Seoul Games. At those first games, both China and South Korea each won two gold medals. Since then, China has gone on to win nearly every single available gold medal for table tennis. In fact, China won a total of 32 gold medals up until the Paris 2024 Games. Other than the aforementioned South Korea, the only other nations to take the top spot are Japan and Sweden. It’s hard to imagine another nation being capable of having the same level of domination as China.

It’s an accomplishment to make it to the Games as it’s no cakewalk. Canada’s Ian Millar has made it to an incredible 10 Olympic Games. He made his debut at the 1972 Munich Games where he competed in equestrian events. Save the 1980 Moscow Olympics, he would go on to attend subsequent competitions right up until London 2012. Although he’s an accomplished show jumper, at the Olympic level, the only medal he won was at the 2008 Beijing Games where he earned a silver for team jumping. Georgian sport shooter Nino Salukvadze is tied with Millar in Olympic appearances and has medaled in 10 and 25 meter air pistol.

Scoring a perfect 10 in gymnastics at one time was thought to be impossible. That is until Romanian athlete Nadia Comaneci became the first to do so at the 1976 Montreal Games for her routine on the uneven bars. She was only 14 at the time, making her the youngest competitor to accomplish the feat. The scoreboards at the time weren’t programmed to display 10 and only showed a score of 1. She would go on to score 10s in other events as well. The scoring system was updated in 2006, so a perfect score is near impossible and the minimum age to compete is now 16. Unless there are further changes, her records will remain unbroken.






#6: Youngest Athlete to Win Gold

There are no specific requirements in terms restricting how old an athlete has to be in order to compete at the Olympics. At the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Kim Yun-mi of South Korea won the gold medal in the 3000m relay in speed skating. She was 13 years and 85 days old making her the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Olympics. While there are no minimum age requirements set by the IOC, the regulating bodies of various sports can impose such restrictions and the ISU now has set the minimum age at 15 to compete in international competitions. It remains unlikely for someone younger to win gold at such a high level of competition.

From 1932 to 1960, Aladar Gerevich was a force to be reckoned with in fencing. He finished atop the podium a record six consecutive times in team sabre representing Hungary. During this impressive feat, two Olympic Games were canceled due the outbreak of World War II. So, it’s possible he could have extended his streak. Interestingly, his wife, son and father-in-law have all won Olympic medals in fencing, so it’s a skill that runs in the family. It’s difficult for athletes to have the competitive longevity that Gerevich had in order to break his record as he was 50 when he won gold in 1960.

Yelena Isinbayeva is considered one of the greatest pole vaulters of all time. She has the distinction of holding both the world and Olympic records for pole vaulting. She set the Olympic record at the 2008 Beijing Games reaching a height of 5.05 meters. Just over a year later she did slightly better in Zurich with a height of 5.06 meters. From 2004 to 2009, it’s been Isinbayeva who has been setting and breaking pole vaulting records. Now that she’s retired, we’re not sure there’s anyone out there to break her record.

At the 1968 Mexico City Games American track and field athlete Bob Beamon completely obliterated the long jump record. His jump came in at 8.90 meters. When the record had been broken previously, there had only been marginal increases in length but Beamon broke the previous record by nearly two feet. It would be the longest recorded long jump until Mike Powell jumped 8.95 meters in 1991 at the World Championships in Tokyo. But, that’s for the world record. As far as Olympics records are concerned, Beamon’s jump remains untouched for over 50 years and we don’t see that changing any time soon.

As one of the best and most successful Olympians ever, you better believe Michael Phelps’ records will be difficult, if not impossible, to top. Currently, he has 23 gold medals and 28 in total. He also has the most gold medals for individual events with 13. For comparison, Ray Ewry holds 8 golds and that was over 100 years ago. Even at his first Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens, he tied the record for medals won at an individual Games. Phelps certainly made a splash right from the beginning and it will be interesting to see if anyone can ever eclipse him, though it’s not likely.

Usain Bolt holds both the world and Olympic records for the fastest 100 meter dash. Bolt set the world record in 2009 with a time of 9.58 seconds at the World Athletic Championships in Berlin. He set the Olympic record for the 100 meter dash of 9.63 seconds at the 2012 London Games. Of the two, the Olympic record is “easier”, with heavy quotations, to beat. Still, it’s not likely. In Bolt’s last appearance at the 2016 Rio Games, he placed first but with a time of 9.81 seconds. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs won with a time of 9.80 seconds.






Which records do you think will be broken some day? Let us know in the comments!