When does extraordinary in sport become ordinary?

At what point in sport does the extraordinary become merely ordinary in sport? Can it be pinpointed? What are the factors that determine it? How can a seemingly impossible record at one point in time, been seen as the benchmark for average (relatively speaking) not longer than thirty years later? Are there any records in sport that will be forever extraordinary and beyond being broken?

Of course, some achievements in sport will remain extraordinary for the foreseeable future and beyond that, probably until the very end of time itself. Bradman’s batting average, Jack Nicklaus’ record number of golf majors, Just Fontaine’s 13 goals in a World Cup Finals and Rocky Marciano’s undefeated 49-bouts in his career as heavyweight champion of the world. These records are so exceptional it would take a rare combination of genius talent, longevity and luck to beat them.

However, the only reason, for example, that Nicklaus’ record remains is because of the implosion of an extraordinary talent in the shape of Tiger Woods. Woods was on course to smash the 18 golf major titles of Nicklaus but for the damage done to his game after the revelations about his personal life which essentially heightens Nicklaus’ achievement even more for having both the skill and the mentality to achieve what he achieved.

However, that said, who would have thought pervious beacons of human sporting achievement would have been broken? Like the 10 second barrier in the 100 metre sprint. Likewise Roger Bannister’s four minute mile, widely perceived at the time to be beyond the capabilities of the human body. Juan Manuel Fangio’s five Formula One World Championships. Roy Emerson’s record number of tennis Grand Slams. Fred Trueman’s number of Test wickets. All of these landmarks have been broken by, or will be broken by, many different people many times, despite being the benchmarks for excellence in the past.

So does this mean that the original record was that outstanding or merely ordinary? Probably a combination of the two, outstanding in the context of the era in which it was set but it has since been overtaken by a new benchmark for excellence due to a number of factors.

The most primary of these factors is quite obvious as advancements in science and medicine have made their mark on sport over the last thirty years. This has allowed sportsmen and women to reach a higher level of performance for a longer period of time, allowing them to have a longer career and more opportunities to win things.

Despite the increased need to be truly extraordinary to beat opponents who have access to the same benefits of science, the statistics still say speak for themselves at the end of careers and this is compared to performances in the sport in the past. More (or less depending on the sport) equals better, the standard of opposition is not measured in the history books hence the hypothetical arguments such as how good would George Best have been in the modern era of increased protection for talented players or the vice versa of how would Lionel Messi cope in the conditions Best played in. The easiest way to judge and compare the quality of sportsmen and women in a historical context is through statistics as the previously mentioned situations are merely hypothetical. Stats are all we have got.

Perhaps the areas of sport which can be quantified lend themselves to this kind of judgement far easier as comparisons are ready made for the comparer. What about on field sporting achievements? The 30 yard screamer into the top corner of the goal? The six hit back down the ground over the bowler’s head? The perfect try (I don’t know what this would look like, as has been established this blog is not a follower of rugby)? The hole-in-one on a par three?

I would argue this comes down to the regularity of their occurrence and the perceived quality attached to their execution. For example, the 30-yard screamer in football is relatively rare and the better a player is the better the chance he or she can execute the technique consistently and intentionally, therefore more excellence is attached to it. Compare that to a six in cricket which can be achieved by any player with a bit of strength and a good eye and is an increasingly common feature in cricket through Twenty20, ergo, not so extraordinary anymore.

It is through these prisms we perceive what is and what is not exceptional in sport and these prisms are constantly shifting due to factors as wide ranging as scientific and medical advancements to the relative amount of occurrences  of the achievement to own personal value judgements and favouritism based on knowledge of the context in which they are set and/or emotional attachment.