Many believed that soon sportsmen around the world would reach a plateau, that break through performances would no longer be a common sight. 2008 proved to be a year to prove these people wrong. World Records were broken by the dozen. But three men stood heads and shoulders above the rest: these three took sporting achievement where no one had even dared to think about.

Usain Bolt

Affectionately called “Lightning Bolt” by everyone but his competitors, the Jamaican took the world by storm in 2008 when he didn’t just break the 100 meters World Record, he took what is arguably the purest form of athletic sport to a whole new level. First he broke the record by clocking 9.72 in May this year at New York, and then as if that wasn’t enough (or rather was a bit too much), he clocked 9.69 at the Olympics. What’s all the more startling about the performance was that he had actually slowed down towards the end. Many observers felt that had he gone through at full throttle, he could have possibly broken the 9.6 barrier, which would have meant within a single year he alone cut the World Record by 0.15 seconds, more than its decrease in the previous seventeen years (Since August 1991 the World Record time had only dropped by 0.12 seconds). Oh, and by the way, he also broke the World Record in 200 meters, became the first man since Carl Lewis to win three sprint golds at a single Olympiad, and the Lauerus World Sportsman of the year award.

Michael Phelps

I wouldn’t be surprised if scientists actually managed to prove he was a sailfish who had evolved to appear like a human. Phelps narrowly missed out on Mark Spitz record of seven gold medals at a single Olympiad at Athens in 2004, bagging six along with two bronzes. But that can’t be expected to fill the hunger of someone who consumes more than 10,000 calories a day, can it? Phelps won all eight of the events he took part in, breaking World Records in seven of them. He also became the All-time Greatest Olympian in the modern era as per number of gold medals won. I won’t be surprised if he takes up diving or synchronized swimming to win more than eight golds at London 2012.

Tiger Woods

You’d be wondering how he made it to this list without even playing for more than half the year. Well, if anyone saw what he did at this year’s U.S. Open, you wouldn’t have been all that surprised. Tiger Woods mental strength is renowned, but this year, he took his game to a whole new level. After seeing his winning streak end at the Accenture World Matchplay and losing out on the Masters jacket to Trevor Immelman, Tiger Woods underwent injury and only returned to hitting balls a few days before the U.S. Open. Woods then putted from around twenty feet to tie for the lead on the last hole and force a playoff, repeated that during the playoff, and finally won on the first additional hole. But the news that started pouring in soon after was inexplicable. He often grimaced during the tournament, but everyone thought that that was more a reason of his recent surgery. The truth was that he played 79 holes with a torn anterior ligament in his left knee, the joint which experiences incredible amount of stress during a golf swing especially for top players who swing the club at nearly 120 MPH. If he had followed his doctor’s advice, he would have been in crutches at the time he lifted the trophy. Players who played along with him even claimed to have heard some kind of noises from his knee at times.

Raveesh Bhalla

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