15 Unbreakable Sports Records

Mariano Rivera’s stunning 602 career saves—and counting—is one of many records that will likely remain unbroken. The Daily Beast looks at 15 other amazing athletic records.

By Clark Merrefield

The New York Yankees’ Mariano Rivera finds himself in a unique position: a career record holder, one of the greatest pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball, and still going strong at an age when most players have already hung up their cleats.

Rivera, 41, is again having the type of dominant season Yankees fans have come to expect since he became the team’s full-time closer in 1997. His earned-run average is a stellar 1.98, he strikes out roughly eight batters for each one he walks, and he allows less than one base runner per inning.

Whether the Sandman decides to retire sooner rather than later, his 602 saves—and counting—will remain one of the most chased, least approached records in modern professional athletics. Rivera’s baseball career has been so dominant that even Red Sox fans have to acknowledge him as among the game’s greatest clutch pitchers.

But Rivera isn’t the only professional athlete with his name etched next to a seemingly unbreakable record. From baseball to football, running to cycling, we run down 15 other individual records that have stood—or will stand—the test of time.