April 26 proved to be a historic day in all of sports as Kenya's Sabastian Sawe became the first human to complete a marathon (42.195 km) in under two hours.
The 31-year-old achieved the feat at the London marathon as he crossed the finish line in 1:59:30 minutes. He broke the previous marathon record of 2:00:35 set by Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya in 2023.
Sawe's achievement left the whole world in shock and awe as they marveled at his physical and mental endurance. As the world gets to terms with this iconic feat, here is a look at some of the long-standing barriers or world records from the world of sports that have been broken.
Athletics
On May 6, 1954, British runner Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile (1.6 kilometers) 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.
Roger Bannister running a sub-4 minute mile in leather dress shoes is still more impressive than a sub-2 hour marathon https://t.co/sOUH2q18Lz pic.twitter.com/9NSv5unt61
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) April 26, 2026
ALSO READ: London Marathon: Inside Adidas 'Supershoe' That Powered Sabastian Sawe's World Record
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. In September 2025, the record was suspended by the Case Management Group (CMG) of World Athletics over a Safeguarding Concern, following a referral by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
Mike Powell breaking the Long Jump world record in 1991. He jumped 29 feet which is like jumping from 6 feet behind the 3pt line and landing under the basket. It is still the record today. pic.twitter.com/k8ZEg2HBv9
— Marl Kalone (@KaloneMarl) April 28, 2022
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. Duplantis, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has broken the world record in men's pole vault 16 times.
Watch how Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.31m for his 15th world pole vault record in Sweden ????
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 12, 2026
Duplantis cleared the mark at his own meeting and was mobbed by his other competitors afterwards ????????
Watch the full highlights on Eurovision Sport below ????https://t.co/1EgMIQfrfp pic.twitter.com/KEnpO6fqJP
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.
???? WORLD RECORD ????
— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) February 19, 2023
Femke Bol goes 49.26 to shatter the indoor 400m world record!
pic.twitter.com/JHsE5VJQ4e
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 October 2025, the record was suspended and Chepngetich was handed a three-year ban for doping.
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.
When Brian Lara Scored World Record 400*. ????????
— Prabhakar S (@thalaprabha21) November 11, 2025
Brian Lara scored his world record 400 not out on April 12, 2004, playing for the West Indies against England in Antigua. This historic innings remains the highest individual score in Test cricket and saw Lara become the first and… pic.twitter.com/RKAVvGZE57
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).
(With inputs from PTI)
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