The Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award it has been presented since 2001 to the amateur or professional sportsperson, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to have, in a single play, game, or season, completed the best record-breaking (as well setting) performance, irrespective of the nature of the record broken.

Between 2001 and 2004, the award voting panel was comprised variously fans; sportswriters and broadcasters, sports executives, and retired sportspersons, termed collectively experts; and ESPN personalities, but balloting thereafter has been undertaken exclusively by fans over the Internet from amongst choices nominated by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.

Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in June and reflect performance from the June previous.Because of the rescheduling of the ESPY Awards ceremony, the award presented in 2002 was given in consideration of performance betwixt February 2001 and June 2002.

In 2024, Caitlin Clark became the first female athlete to win this award in history.

List of winners + Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award winnersYear of awardImageAthleteNation of citizenshipTeamCompetition, governing body, or leagueSportRecord setPrevious record-holderRef(s)2001 ATP Tour TennisTotal career men's singles Grand Slam titles (13). This record has since been surpassed by Roger Federer. (12)2002 PGA Tour GolfConsecutive 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]) (three, in 1953)2003 Dallas CowboysNational Football League (NFL) American footballTotal 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 Los Angeles DodgersMajor League Baseball (MLB) BaseballConsecutive saves converted in a single MLB regular season (55 across the league's 2003 season) (46, in 1998)2005 Indianapolis ColtsNational Football League (NFL) American footballTotal single-season NFL passing touchdowns (49 in the league's 2004 season) (48 in the 1984 season)2006 Seattle SeahawksTotal single-season NFL rushing touchdowns (27 in the league's 2005 season) (23, in 2003)2007 San Diego ChargersTotal single-season NFL rushing touchdowns (28 in the league's 2006 season) (27, in 2005) ǂ2008 Green Bay PackersTotal career NFL passing touchdowns (442 at the close of the 2007 season, with 28 tallied therein) (420, across the 17 seasons between 1983 and 1999, inclusive)2009 Olympic GamesSwimmingTotal gold medals achieved at a single Games of the Olympiad (eight in the 2008 Summer Olympics) (seven, at the 1972 Summer Olympics)2010 John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut and WimbledonTennisLongest 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 fourth round match at the 2004 French Open lasting 6 hours, 33 minutes.2011 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 New Orleans SaintsNational Football League (NFL) American football Brees threw for 5,476 yards in 2011–12, breaking the NFL single-season record. (5,084 yards in 1984) 2013 Olympic Games Swimming Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history, finishing the London Olympics with a total of 22 medals. (19 medals, 1956–1964, representing the Soviet Union) 2014 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 Manning set the NFL record for career touchdown passes (530 at the end of the 2014 season). Brett Favre (touchdown passes 1991–2010) 2016 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. 2017 Olympic Games Swimming Phelps extended his own record of being the most decorated Olympian during the Rio Olympics in 2016 with a total of 28 Olympic medals. He now has 23 Gold, 3 Silver, and 2 Bronze Olympic Medals. Phelps previously held the record when he broke it in the London 2012 Olympics where he finished with a grand total of 22 Olympic medals. 2018 Wimbledon Tennis Most Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles championships all time with 8 Federer was previously tied with William Renshaw & Pete Sampras with 7 2019 New Orleans SaintsNational Football League (NFL) American football Brees set the record for most passing yards (71,940) Peyton Manning 2020Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Washington Wizards National Basketball Association (NBA) Basketball Westbrook set the record for most career triple-doubles (182) Oscar Robertson (181) 2022 Golden State Warriors Curry set the record for most career three-point field goals (3,117) Ray Allen (2,973) 2023 Los Angeles Lakers James set the record for most NBA career points (38,652) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) 2024 Iowa Hawkeyes National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Clark set the record for most NCAA career points scored (men's and women's) (3,951) Pete Maravich (3,667) 2025 Washington Capitals National Hockey League (NHL) Ice hockey Ovechkin set the record for most NHL career goals (895) Wayne Gretzky (894) 2026 Cleveland Browns National Football League (NFL) American football Garrett set the record for most sacks in a single season (23). Michael Strahan & T. J. Watt (22.5)

See also Sports records and statistics

References