| POPOV | Russian clown who in 1955 became the first to tour outside his home country (5) |
| OLEG | Russian clown who in 1955 became the first to tour outside his home country (4) |
| NADIA | ___ Comaneci, a Romanian gymnast became the first to score a perfect 10 in the 1976 games. She then went on to score a 10 six more times. |
| ITALO | Writer Calvino whose first name is one letter off from his home country |
| DITYATIN | Who, in the 1980 Moscow Games, became the first to win eight medals, the most in a single edition, which has since been equalled twice by Michael Phelps? (8) |
| VINCECARTER | Atlanta Hawks forward who recently became the first to play in the NBA in four different decades: 2 wds. |
| KRUNAL | Who became the first to win the Player of the Final twice in IPL history? (6) |
| SOANE | Architect who designed the old Bank of England, his home in Lincoln's Inn Fields and Dulwich Picture Gallery, home to a collection of Old Masters (5) |
| LSO | Founded in 1904, in 1963 this British orchestra was the first to tour Japan (1,1,1) |
| ALANSHEPARD | US astronaut who became the first to travel in space in 1961 (4,7) |
| NORWAY | In 2016, which country became the first to ban any products that contribute to deforestation? (6) |
| COMANECI | Nadia, the Romanian gymnast who, at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, became the first to score a perfect 10 (8) |
| JAMESDEAN | Rebel Without A Cause actor who became the first to receive a posthumous nomination for an Oscar (5, |
| WYOMING | U.S. state that in 1890 became the first to allow women to vote (7) |
| NASH | In 1954, which US maker became the first to offer air-conditioning in their cars? (4) |
| JONAH | Prophet who "made his home in / Dat fish's abdomen", per Porgy and Bess (5) |
| RISHI | ___ Sharma, shocked to find Marshall Hamston hiding in his house in Emmerdale (5) |
| PANT | Which Indian wicketkeeper scored a fearless 89 in Brisbane 2021 and became the first to hit Test centuries in both England and Australia under Kohli's captaincy?(Last Name) (4) |
| MOROCCAN | Abdelkhader El Mouaziz became the first to win the New York Marathon |
| CASSINI | NASA spacecraft that became the first to enter Saturn's orbit in 2004 (7) |
