While the name of Michael Phelps may be erased from the individual world record books, there is one record that may never be touched. Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 career Olympic medals, 23 of which are gold, could be a number whose lifespan stands the test of time.
In a report from MSN, Phelps’ record of 23 Olympic Gold medals was deemed one of 14 “unbreakable” sports records; this record stands alongside the likes of Usain Bolt‘s 9.58 100-meter dash world record mark, Cal Ripken Jr.‘s 2,632-games-played streak in baseball, and Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics, among others.
Before Phelps’ 28 medals, the former “most decorated Olympian” was Lasusa Latynina of the Soviet Union, a gymnast who collected 18 medals (9 gold) from 1956 to 1964.
An argument can be made that the eight gold medals from Beijing in 2008 could earn a mention as well in this list, though the sheer amount of Olympic success Phelps saw over a decade-plus-long Olympic Career is hard to deny.
What really puts Phelps’ gold medal haul into perspective is who the next closest to him are; Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo boasts 11 golds (less than half of Phelps’ career total), while six athletes in history have managed to secure nine, those being Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel, Mark Spitz, Latynina, Carl Lewis, and Paavo Nurmi.
Full List of MSN’s “Unbreakable Records in Sports History”
- Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-Point NBA Game
- UCLA Men’s Basketball 88-Game Basketball Winning Streak
- Boston Celtics’ Eight Consecutive NBA Championships
- Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,632-Games Played Streak
- Cy Young’s 511 MLB Wins
- Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak
- Jesse Owens’ Four World Records in an Hour in 1935
- Usain Bolt‘s 9.58-Second 100m World Record
- Bob Beamon’s Record-Breaking 8.90m Long Jump in 1968
- Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 NHL Points
- USA Hockey’s Upset Over the Soviet Union in 1980 in Lake Placid
- Phelps’ 23 Olympic Golds
- Roger Bannister Breaking the Four-Minute Mile barrier in 1954
- Nadia Comaneci’s Perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics
How is the 4 minute mile record “unbreakable” when its been broken multiple times lol
What are his 5 non gold metals?
Hote take: Yes, this record is incredible BUT with the addition of 50s + mixed relays since his departure, this isn’t as unbreakable as it would have been under the event lineup that was available to Phelps
Maybe I don’t understand how words work, but how is this an unbreakable record? In fact, Josh Kerr just broke the mile record this past weekend (3:42.66).
Obviously there can only be one person to be the first to do something, but that’s a pretty boring way to define “unbreakable”. For that matter, Bannister wasn’t even the only man to break 4:00 in 1954 — John Landy went a full second faster just a few weeks later. Sucks to be second.
Yeah, same thing with Beamon’s long jump, which was broken in 1991. “Unbreakable” is a strange word to use for records that have long been broken.
Same with Bob Bemon’s long jump. His record was broken 34 years ago.
Roger McLeod’s NVSL 8&U 25M Boys Free Record (15.10) should also be included in this list. It was set in 1965.
One of my favorite articles for our print magazine was on this record. We ran it on the web several months later.
https://swimswam.com/the-invincible-records/
Random fact: Kris Humphries (former NBA player/former husband of Kim Kardahian) still has the MN Boys 10U 50/100 records, 1995.
scy-records-2025-2026-4-9-2026_091913.pdf
I knew he was a good swimmer, had no idea that record still stood. That’s amazing. Athletes gonna athlete.
(You know somewhere in Minnesota a 72-year-old swim coach is saying ‘he got too fast too young and never worked out. See, fast 10 & unders never work out).
This is actually an absurd record wow
Bam Adebayo almost took Wilt’s name off the list lmao
And in other news… “FORK FOUND IN KITCHEN! FILM AT 11!!!”