Year of award |
Athlete |
Nation of citizenship |
Team |
Competition, governing body, or league |
Sport |
Record set |
Previous record-holder |
2001 |
Pete Sampras |
United States |
not applicable |
ATP Tour |
Tennis |
Total career men's singles Grand Slam titles (13). This record has since been surpassed by Roger Federer. |
Australian Roy Emerson (12) |
2002 |
Tiger Woods |
United States |
not applicable |
PGA Tour |
Golf |
Consecutive men's major championships won (Four—the 2000 U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and PGA Championship and the 2001 Masters Tournament [known as the consecutive Grand Slam]) |
American Ben Hogan (Three, in 1953) |
2003 |
Emmitt Smith |
United States |
Dallas Cowboys |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Total career NFL rushing yards (17,162 at the close of the league's 2002 season, with 975 tallied therein) |
American Walter Payton (16,726, across the 13 seasons between 1975 and 1987, inclusive) |
2004 |
Éric Gagné |
Canada |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
Major League Baseball (MLB) |
Baseball |
Consecutive saves converted in a single MLB regular season (55 across the league's 2003 season) |
American Tom Gordon (46, in 1998) |
2005 |
Peyton Manning |
United States |
Indianapolis Colts |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Total single-season NFL passing touchdowns (49 in the league's 2004 season) |
American Dan Marino (48 in the 1984 season) |
2006 |
Shaun Alexander |
United States |
Seattle Seahawks |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Total single-season NFL rushing touchdowns (27 in the league's 2005 season) |
American Priest Holmes (23, in 2003) |
2007 |
LaDainian Tomlinson |
United States |
San Diego Chargers |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Total single-season NFL rushing touchdowns (28 in the league's 2006 season) |
American Shaun Alexander (27, in 2005) |
2008 |
Brett Favre |
United States |
Green Bay Packers |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Total career NFL passing touchdowns (442 at the close of the 2007 season, with 28 tallied therein) |
American Dan Marino (420, across the 17 seasons between 1983 and 1999, inclusive) |
2009 |
Michael Phelps |
United States |
Not applicable |
Olympic Games |
Swimming |
Total gold medals achieved at a single Games of the Olympiad (Eight in the 2008 Summer Olympics) |
American Mark Spitz (Seven, at the 1972 Summer Olympics) |
2010 |
John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut |
United States and France |
Not applicable |
Wimbledon |
Tennis |
Longest match in tennis history, lasting 11 hours, 5 minutes; Isner defeated Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set of the 1st round match. |
Fabrice Santoro vs. Arnaud Clément 4th round match at the 2004 French Open lasting 6 hours, 33 minutes. |
2011 |
Rory McIlroy |
Northern Ireland |
Not applicable |
U.S. Open |
Golf |
In winning the U.S. Open, McIlroy broke tournament records for the lowest 72-hole score, both in total strokes (268) and in relation to par (−16). |
72-hole score (272): Jim Furyk, 2003; Tiger Woods, 2000; Lee Janzen, 1993; Jack Nicklaus, 1980. To-par (−12): Woods, 2000. |
2012 |
Drew Brees |
United States |
New Orleans Saints |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Brees threw for 5,476 yards in 2011-12, breaking the NFL single-season record. |
Dan Marino (5,084 yards in 1984) |
2013 |
Michael Phelps |
United States |
Not applicable |
Olympic Games |
Swimming |
Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history, finishing the London Olympics with a total of 22 medals. |
Ukrainian Larisa Latynina (19 medals, 1956–1964, representing the Soviet Union) |
2014 |
Peyton Manning |
United States |
Denver Broncos |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Manning set single-season NFL records for both passing yardage (5,477) and touchdown passes (55) in the 2013 season. |
Yardage: Drew Brees (5,476 yards in 2011) TDs: Tom Brady (50 in 2007) |
2015 |
Peyton Manning |
United States |
Denver Broncos |
National Football League (NFL) |
American football |
Manning set the single-season NFL record for career touchdown passes (530 at the end of the 2014 season). |
Brett Favre (touchdown passes 1991-2010) |
2016 |
Stephen Curry |
United States |
Golden State Warriors |
National Basketball Association (NBA) |
Basketball |
Curry set the record for most three-point field goals in a season with 402. |
Curry had the previous record, 286 in the 2014-15 season. |