New Delhi, Apr 27 : After Kenyan Sabastian Sawe became the first person in history to run a marathon race below 2 hours in London on Sunday, The long-standing barriers or world records which were broken.
Men’s Marathon (42.195km):
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya officially broke the two-hour barrier with a time of 1:59:30 at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026. He bettered a three-year old men’s marathon world record of 2:00:35 set by Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya in 2023.
On May 6, 1954, British runner Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, clocking then world record time of 3 minutes 59.40 seconds in Oxford. This historic feat broke a psychological barrier previously thought impossible. His world record, however, survived just 46 days before Australian John Landy bettered it with 3:58:00 on June 21, 1954.
Men’s Long Jump:
American Mike Powell broke 23-year-old world record with a jump of 8.95m in 1991, bettering compatriot Bob Beamon’s 1968 mark of 8.90m.
Men’s Pole Vault:
Ukrainian Sergey Bubka’s last world record of 6.15m in 1993 survived 21 years before Renaud Lavillenie of France broke it in 2014 with 6.16m. Sweden’s Armand Duplantis (6.31m) is the current world record holder since 2020.
Women’s 400m (Indoor race):
Femke Bol of the Netherlands set a new world record of 49.26 seconds on February 19, 2023, breaking the 41-year-old previous record of 49.59 seconds set by Jarmila Kratochvílová of erstwhile Czechoslovakia in 1982.
Women’s Marathon:
British runner Paula Radcliffe’s world record of 2:15:25 stood 16 years before Kenyan Brigid Kosgei (2:14:04) broke it in 2019. The current world record is 2:09:56 set by Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya in 2024.
In April 2026, Sawan Barwal broke the 48-year-old men’s marathon national record in Rotterdam, clocking 2 hours, 11 minutes and 58 seconds and bettering Shivnath Singh’s previous record of 2:12:00 which stood since 1978.
CRICKET:
West Indian great Gary Sobers’ highest individual Test knock of 365 not out made in 1958 against Pakistan survived for 36 years before compatriot Brian Lara broke it in 1994 when he scored 375 against England.
Australian Matthew surpassed Lara’s record in 2003 with a knock of 380 before the West Indian legend recaptured the feat with 400 not out one year later.
BADMINTON:
Pullela Gopichand won the All England Open title in 2001, emulating Prakash Padukone’s 1980 feat after a 21-year gap.
In 2022, the Indian men’s team won the Thomas Cup for the first time in the tournament’s 73-year history.
In April 2026, Ayush Shetty became the first Indian men’s singles player since Dinesh Khanna in 1965 to reach the final of the Badminton Asia Championships. Shetty’s silver medal performance ended a 61-year wait for an Indian finalist in this category at the continental event.
The duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won India’s first-ever Asian Championship gold in men’s doubles in 2023, 58 years after Dinesh Khanna’s singles gold in 1965.
In April 2018, Kidambi Srikanth became the world number one in men’s singles, the first Indian male to achieve the feat since Prakash Padukone in 1980, ending a 38-year wait.
Sai Praneeth won a bronze medal at the 2019 BWF World Championships, becoming the first Indian male shuttler to medal at the event in 36 years since Prakash Padukone won bronze in 1983.
Lakshya Sen reached the final of the All England Open in 2022, becoming the first Indian man to do so in 21 years since Gopichand’s win in 2001. He repeated this feat by reaching the final again in 2026.
In 2019, PV Sindhu became the first Indian badminton player to become a world champion. She is also the only Indian to win two consecutive Olympic medals (Silver in 2016, Bronze in 2021).
