Methodology

Last updated October 2026

Record Bonanza publishes rankings of sports records that are built by hand, checked against official sources, and re-verified on a recurring basis. This page explains exactly how that process works.

1. Selecting what we rank

We prioritize records that are widely recognized, well documented by an official governing body, and meaningful to a broad sports audience — Olympic medal counts, career statistical leaders in major professional leagues, and marks in individual sports such as athletics, swimming, tennis, golf and motorsport. We avoid niche or disputed statistics where an authoritative source does not exist.

2. Sourcing

Every ranking lists an official source: the governing body, federation or league responsible for ratifying the record (for example World Athletics, the International Olympic Committee, World Aquatics, the NBA, MLB, the NFL, the NHL, FIFA, the ATP, the WTA, the ITF, the PGA Tour and major championship organizers, or Formula 1). Where a figure is corroborated by a secondary statistical archive, that is listed as an additional source.

3. Verification and the "Last verified" date

Each ranking carries a "Last verified" date — the date an editor most recently checked every entry in that table against the official source. We do not use automated scraping to populate or refresh rankings; every number is entered and checked by a person.

4. Sorting criteria and ties

Each ranking states its sorting criterion explicitly (for example, "descending by career total, ties broken alphabetically" or "ascending by elapsed time"). Where two or more entries are statistically tied, we say so directly in the table notes rather than assigning an arbitrary order.

5. Era and rule-change context

Many records span decades during which equipment, rules, distances, or competitive format changed. Rather than presenting cross-era numbers as directly equivalent, every ranking article explains the relevant rule or equipment history so readers can judge comparability themselves.

6. Official vs. unofficial records

We distinguish clearly between world records, Olympic records, league records and competition-specific records — they are not interchangeable, and we label which type each ranking covers.

7. Corrections

When a ranking changes — a record is broken, a result is amended, or we find an error — we update the page and log the change on our Corrections page.