Olympic Games: Who are the most medal winning athletes in history?

Climb a step, bow your head and grab a piece of metal with a ribbon. Three simple moves, but at the same time, the ones that every athlete dreams of performing from the moment they take their first steps.

If that platform or step also bears the five Olympic rings printed on it, the medal takes on a meaning that only the most distinguished athletes around the world dream of.

Whether it’s gold, silver or bronze, winning an Olympic medal is a reward for any athlete for a lifetime of sacrifice dedicated to the sport.

But there are some exceptional athletes who have won not one, not two, not three, but a large number of Olympic medals.

In this article we review The five athletes who have worn the most medals around their necks in Summer Olympic history.

Olympic waters are absolutely owned and that is it. Michael PhelpsThe American swimmer has a total of 28 medals, including 23 gold medals.

The Baltimore Shark, as he is known as the most successful Olympic medalist in history, was thrust into the global spotlight when he was just 15 years old at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Although he didn’t win any medals at the time, it was the starting point for a career full of success.

At the 2004 Athens Games he won six golds and two bronzes, although it was in the Water Cube, the pool at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where Phelps became a legend. He won eight gold medals at the same games.Surpassing the record of seven set by Mark Spitz in Munich 1972.

After the 2012 London Olympics, where he won six more medals (four golds and two silvers), Phelps announced that he would be hanging up his cap and glasses. But the Baltimore Shark wanted to take one last bite out of the Olympic medals table, and returned one last time to win five golds and one silver at Rio 2016.

He was the first big star in artistic gymnastics and still is. The most decorated female athlete in Olympic history.

gymnast Larisa Latynina He was undoubtedly one of the great figures of Soviet sport and his personal story is not far from his record.

She grew up during World War II, her father died in the Battle of Stalingrad and she took her first steps (or leaps) in ballet.

However, it was gymnastics that brought her to stardom, and her Olympic baptism occurred at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where she won four golds, one silver and one bronze.

He won six more medals at Rome 1960 (three golds, two silvers and one bronze) and at Tokyo 1964 (two golds, two silvers and two bronze). Total 18 medals.

Without leaving the Soviet Union, or abandoning the rings or parallel bars, we come to the third most successful athlete, the gymnast. Nikolai Andrianov.

It was because of his creativity and amazing sense of humor. It is known as “Nureyev Gymnastics” in honor of the famous dancer.

He made his gold medal debut at Munich 1972, although his breakthrough came at Montreal 1976 where he won four golds, two silvers and one bronze. The Soviet gymnast completed his historic home record at the Moscow 1980 Olympics, adding two more golds, two silvers and one bronze.

But Andrianov’s love for gymnastics did not stop after his retirement, as he later became a coach.He first took out the promising young Soviet gymnastics team and later the Japanese team.

Artistic gymnastics and the Soviet Union were synonymous with success for decades, and before Andrianov arrived, the great figure Boris Shakhlin.

He was known as the “Iron Mask” for his expressionless face and imposing figure. She dominated men’s gymnastics for years with a total of 13 medals.

At Melbourne 1956 he debuted with two gold medals, at Rome 1960 he added four more golds plus two silvers and a bronze, and closed out his record at Tokyo 1964 with one gold, two silvers and one bronze.

We change rings and bars for chips and sword to find ourselves in this category with the Italian. Eduardo Mangiarotti.

Italy is the dominant force in the historical fencing medal table and Mangiarotti is the main reference. Not only because of his 13 Olympic medals, but also because of his longevity.

He first appeared on the medal table at the 1936 Berlin Games and completed it no less than 24 years later! at Rome 1960. In total, the great Italian shooter won six golds, five silvers and one bronze, who also won medals at London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956.

Among the most successful nations in the Olympic world is Japan and its most successful athlete is a gymnast. Takashi Ono.

She made her debut at the 1952 Helsinki Games with a bronze medal, but at Melbourne 1956 she was confirmed as a serious alternative to Soviet gymnastics dominance, adding one gold, three silvers and one bronze in this competition.

His performance at Rome 1960 established him as one of the best gymnasts in history, with three more golds, one silver and two bronzes.

But Ohno managed to finish his Olympic journey as any athlete would dream. At the 1964 Tokyo Games, he was responsible for delivering the opening ceremony speech. A few days later, he won a final gold medal in front of his home crowd after winning the team competition.

If Phelps is the undisputed king of pool, The queen of rowing could only be Germany’s Birgit Fischer.

When she was just 18 years old, she won her first gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Games, becoming the youngest female canoeist to win an Olympic event.

But that was just the beginning of his long career on kayaks, his specialty. Considering that he did not participate in the 1984 Los Angeles Games, due to the boycott of East Germany, which he represented.

Yes, he did in Seoul 1988 where he added two golds and a silver. In Barcelona 1992 he won another gold and another silver, the same result he achieved in Atlanta 1996. In Sydney 2000 he added two more golds, and He bid farewell to the 2004 Athens Olympics at the age of 42 with another gold and another silver.

Without leaving the water, though, this time we returned to the pool and found the American. Jenny Thompsonthe most successful swimmer in history.

Between Barcelona 1992 and Athens 2004 he won 12 medals, eight of them gold. An example of the impressive American dominance in the sport is that Thompson’s eight gold medals came in the team relay.

To this we must add a silver on his debut in Barcelona, ​​a bronze at Sydney 2000 and two silvers at Athens 2004. Although he did not win any gold medals in individual Olympic events, it is fair to say that he added many of them at the World Championships.

If we have already talked about Germany’s dominance in rowing with Birgit Fischer, Olympic equestrianism is also German territory. The great representative of this school is Isabel Werth.

The ever-present Wirth took horsemanship to new levels through a dazzling combination of precision, artistry, talent and endurance. We emphasize the eternal because the German thing in Olympic dressage is worth studying.

His successes began in Barcelona 1992 with a gold and a silver. In Atlanta 1996, two more golds, Sydney 2000 gold and silver, Beijing 2008 gold and silver, Rio 2016 gold and silver… and so on until Tokyo 2020, with another gold and another silver.

Considering the last Olympics were actually held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, 29 years separate the great Firth’s first and last medals.

To close this list of exceptional athletes, we must take another trip. And of course we return to American swimming with Dara Torres.

She had the longest successful career of any Olympic swimmer and that was her lifespan. He participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he was 41 years old! And won two silver medals.

He made his Olympic debut at Los Angeles 1984 with a gold medal, then at Seoul 1988 with a silver and a bronze, and another gold at Barcelona 1992. But his greatest Olympic Games came at Sydney 2000, where he won two golds and three bronzes.