| 100% | PRIX | 4 | Grand ___ race organized by the Automobile Club de France in 1906 and held at Le Mans, was the first |
| 28% | MCMIII | 6 | Year the first Tour de France was held |
| 27% | ATOMICPILE | 10 | The first one of these was built by Fermi and his team in 1942 |
| 27% | CURLINGBONSPIEL | 15 | Athletic tournament hinted at by the first words in 17-, 23-, 48-, and 60-Across |
| 27% | COACHELLA | 9 | Annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in California |
| 27% | VCR | 3 | The first commercial one of these was introduced by Ampex in 1956 and cost roughly $50,000 |
| 27% | PENTATHLON | 10 | Discontinued Olympic men's event first won at the 1906 Intercalated Games by Hjalmar Mellander |
| 26% | HEAT | 4 | 1995 movie that was the first time Al Pacino and Robert De Niro ever acted together in the same scene |
| 26% | NEWYORKMARATHON | 15 | Event held on the first Sunday in November, and whose path is recreated in this puzzle |
| 26% | ARMORYSHOW | 10 | Event at which the work spelled out by the circled letters was first exhibited in America |
| 26% | PETE | 4 | I became the number one tennis player in 1993 and my record of 14 Grand Slams was surpassed by Federer in 2009 |
| 26% | PRO | 3 | ___ Bowl, prestigious annual event held by the NFL to which Vinny Testaverde was invited in 1996 and 1998 |
| 26% | LYRIC | 5 | "In the town where I was born / Lived a man who sailed to sea" is the first one in "Yellow Submarine," by the Beatles |
| 25% | MUNICH | 6 | City in Germany where the beverage festival "Oktoberfest" was first held and has since continued to be held annually |
| 25% | HAND | 4 | "I Want to Hold Your ___," 1963 song by The Beatles which was their first number 1 hit in America |
| 25% | NIPSEYHUSSLE | 12 | Rapper and community activist whose 2019 memorial service was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (2 wds.) |
| 25% | CHUCK | 5 | ___ Bednarik, linebacker who was selected first overall draft pick by the Eagles and won the Maxwell Award in 1948 |
| 25% | STADIUM | 7 | "Oh, and and... Get this! The opening ceremony will not be held in a ___ but by the Seine. How cool!" |
| 25% | CUNARD | 6 | Samuel ___, who got the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract in 1839 and whose company is now owned by the Carnival Corporation |
| 25% | NATIONAL | 8 | ___ Christmas Tree, iconic tree on display in the Ellipse, Washington D.C. that is lit up by the President and First Lady |
| 24% | ABE | 3 | Nickname of the man (born 2/12/1809) who gave the address at 18-Across, issued the 28-Across/45-Across, was the first elected president of the 60-Across Party, and whose name can be found in this puzzle's main diagonal |
| 24% | JONASSALK | 9 | Virologist who developed the first successful polio vaccine and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter in 1977 (2 wds.) |
| 24% | ALEKSEI | 7 | Leonov who was the first man to walk in space |
| 24% | YUTOHORIGOME | 12 | Japanese skateboarder who was the first person to win a gold medal in skateboarding at the Olympics, in men's street skateboarding in Tokyo in 2021 (2 wds.) |
| 24% | HANDBALL | 8 | Seven-a-side sport won by France at the 2020 Olympics by both the men's and women's teams |
| 24% | BOBSLEIGH | 9 | Winter Olympic sport in which teams of two race on narrow iced tracks and was first played in the 1870s |
| 24% | ETE | 3 | When le Tour de France is held |
| 24% | XAVIERCUGAT | 11 | Entertainer who was the first man to be married at Caesars Palace |
| 24% | AJFOYT | 6 | Only driver to win Indy and Le Mans in the same year |
| 24% | MICHAELPHELPS | 13 | American swimmer who holds the most world records (7) and is one of the fastest in men's swimming: 2 wds. |