What will be the modern-day Roger Bannister moment?

British athlete Roger Bannister breaks the tape to become the first man ever to break the four minute barrier. photo / AP

When Roger Bannister, who passed away overnight, broke the four-minute mile in 1954, the pre-hashtag world went gaga.

Just a year after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquered Mt Everest, Bannister became Sports Illustrated's first ever Sportsman of the Year and the record was later regarded as 'the seminal sporting achievements of the 20th century'.

Which sporting record or achievement these days would create the same reaction and hysteria as Bannister's famous run did? Cameron McMillan lists a few possible record breakers.

100 metre under nine seconds
Current record – Usain Bolt 9.58 seconds
American Jim Hines became the first person to break the 10 second barrier in the 100m sprint in 1968 on his way to winning the Olympic title. 50 years later and the record sits at 9.58, set by Bolt in 2009. Bolt is now retired and of the current world sprinters Yohan Blake (9.69 personal best) and Justin Gatlin (9.74 PB) are still way off 9.5 seconds. A great piece by The Conversation breaks down the chances of nine seconds ever being broken – the takeaway is that it will happen at some point due to modern day science and training methods. But not any time soon.

Chance of happening: 9.5 seconds is a better chance, if Usain Bolt came out of retirement.

Individual 300 in an ODI
Current record – Rohit Sharma 264
Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to reach a double ton in the 50-over format in 2010, reaching 200 not out against South Africa. Since then five other players have reached the milestone with Sharma doing it twice included his record 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014. It wasn't that long ago that 300 by a team was a huge milestone in ODIs but with the advent of Twenty20 cricket and faster scoring, a player reaching a triple century doesn't seem that far-fetched.

Chance of happening: It's an India ODI against Nepal away from happening.

NBA player scoring 101
Current record – Wilt Chamberlain 100
The 100 point mark has been unattainable since Chamberlain reached the mark in 1962, one of seven times in his career he reached 70+ points. No one has matched the consistency of his high scoring but if the planets align and a player has a hot hand for four quarters, it could happen. Kobe Bryant is the only modern day player to get close, scoring 81 against the Raptors in 2006 while Devin Booker hit 70 for the Suns against the Celtics a year ago, 51 of those coming in the second half. In the age of social media, which NBA dominates on a daily basis, a player breaking 100 would be a huge event.

Chance of happening: The NBA seems pretty even these days but if a late-season tanking team meets a points hungry scorer then it's not impossible.

Long jump – Nine metres
Current record – Mike Powell 8.95m
Powell broken Bob Beamon's record of 8.90m in 1991. However 27 years later no one has managed to get that measly extra five centremetres. American Jeff Henderson claimed gold at the Rio Olympics with 8.38 metres while South African Luvo Manyonga is the world leader with a PB of 8.65m. The closest in more recent times is American Dwight Phillips who produced a jump of 8.74m in 2009 and Irving Saladino of Panama with 8.73m a year earlier.

Chance of happening: Not any time soon.

Rugby player reaching 200 tests
Current record – Richie McCaw - 148
Frenchman Philippe Sella became the first player to reach the 100-test milestone in 1994 against the All Blacks. Since then 50 players have reached the mark. The current active tests leader is England prop Rochelle Clark (129 tests) who made her debut in 2003 and played in four World Cups. 26-year-old Sam Cane has played 53 tests since his debut in 2012, while Beauden Barrett, also 26, sits on 62 tests. Kieran Read is the leading active All Black with 109 and could be a chance to break McCaw's record but 200 seems too far. But with the test schedule continuing to increase if a player averaged 12 tests a year they could reach the 200 mark in year 17 of their career – three years longer than McCaw player for. That seems like a lot of rugby but all it would take is a Brad Thorn like career to start at 18.
Chance of happening: Maybe. If only Brad Thorn never played league.