Barrier breakers

Sport's Great Firsts: A Timeline

Every record has a first. Some firsts are about speed or distance, and some are about who is allowed to compete at all. This timeline gathers the barrier-breaking moments covered on Shining Champion, plus a few more every fan should know.

Roger Bannister and John Landy at Iffley Road track in 2004

Bannister and Landy, 2004: GooglerW, CC BY-SA 4.0

Firsts through the years

1896
The first modern Olympics
Athens hosts the first modern Olympic Games, with athletes from 14 nations.
1900
Women at the Olympics
Women compete at the Paris Games for the first time. Tennis player Charlotte Cooper of Britain becomes the first female Olympic champion.
1926
Ederle crosses the Channel
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, nearly two hours faster than any man before her.
1947
Jackie Robinson's debut
Robinson plays for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ending Major League Baseball's colour line, and wins the first Rookie of the Year award.
1954
The four-minute mile
Roger Bannister runs 3:59.4 in Oxford, the first mile under four minutes.
1958
Pele's first World Cup
At 17, Pele scores twice in the final as Brazil win their first World Cup. He goes on to become the only three-time winner.
1967
Boston Marathon pioneers
Kathrine Switzer becomes the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with an official bib number, a year after Bobbi Gibb ran it without one.
1976
The first perfect 10
Nadia Comaneci, 14, scores the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics in Montreal.
1980
Five golds on ice
Eric Heiden wins all five men's speed skating events at Lake Placid.
2019
Under two hours
Eliud Kipchoge runs a marathon distance in 1:59:40 in Vienna, the first person to break two hours, in a specially arranged event.
2025
900 NHL goals
Alex Ovechkin becomes the first player to score 900 goals in the NHL.
2026
Six golds at one Winter Games
Johannes Hosflot Klaebo wins all six men's cross-country races at Milano Cortina, the first to win six golds at one Winter Olympics.