The most decorated Olympians of all time
The Olympic Games is the the most sporting event on the planet are the most important event where any sportsperson can compete. Tokyo 2020 is giving us incredible moments and we are witnessing great athletes such as Simone Biles, Karsten Warholm, Katie Ledecky, or Caleb Dressel. But today we want to look back and remember who are the most decorated Olympians of all time and what their stories are. So let’s check who is at the top of the Olympics.
The most popular Olympic sports
Michael Phelps (USA, Swimming)
It will be hard to find another athlete like Michael Phelps in the Olympic Games any time soon. The American swimmer is the most decorated athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals. For sheer numbers of medals claimed we can say Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian ever. His record not only includes 28 medals, but 23 of them are gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronzes.
His first Olympics were Sidney 2000 at the age of 15, being the youngest man in the USA team for an Olympic Games in 68 years. He finished fifth in the 200m butterfly, the only event he came close to the podium. From then on, Phelps dominated the following Olympic Games. In Athens 2004 he won 6 gold medals and 2 bronzes. In Beijing 2008 he got 8 golds and broke World Records in seven events he entered. In London 2012 he won 4 golds and 2 silver. Although he decided to retire after that, he came back in Rio 2016 and won 5 golds and 1 silver.
The longest standing world records
Larisa Latynina (Soviet Union, Artistic Gymnastics)
Larisa Latynina, a gymnast from the Soviet Union, is the most decorated woman of the Olympic Games. Until Michael Phelps broke her record in 2016, she had been the only athlete in any sport to have won 18 Olympic medals. Her Olympic debut was in Melbourne 1956 where she won 4 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze.
In the Olympic Games that followed she got 5 more golds (3 in Rome 1960 and 2 in Tokio1964), 4 silvers, and 3 bronzes. In total, Latynina has won 18 medals: 9 golds, 5 silver, and 4 bronzes, so unsurprisingly she holds several Olympic records: She is one of the four athletes who have won 9 gold medals and one of the three women to have won the same event at Summer Games three times.
Simone Biles had five medals (4 gold and 1 bronze) before Tokio 2020, so everybody was wondering if she could get close to Latynina’s gold haul, but finally, she has won 1 silver and 1 bronze in Tokyo. Although she has not achieved that milestone, Biles has stood out for putting such an important issue as mental health on the table.
The most outstanding world records in sport
Nikolay Andrianov (Soviet Union, Artistic Gymnastics)
Nikolay Andrianov has won more Olympic medals than any other male gymnast. In total, Andrianov has 15 medals, of which 7 are gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronzes. His first Olympic Games were Munich 1972, but it was in Montreal 1976 where Andrianov achieved his greatest accomplishments with 7 medals finishes out of a possible eight. At Moscow, he took his overall tally to 15 medals.
The 10 greatest athletes of all time
Boris Shakhlin (Soviet Union, Artistic Gymnastics)
Gymnast Boris Shakhlin and his 13 Olympic medals were a record for men until he was surpassed by Nikolay Andrianov. Between 1956 and 1964, Shakhlin won 7 gold medals, 4 silver, and 2 bronze.
Edoardo Mangiarotti (Italia, Fencing)
Edoardo Mangiariotti also has 13 Olympic medals, but he has 6 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze, which he won between Berlin 1936 and Roma 1960. Mangiariotti became Italy’s most successful ever Olympian. The fact is that no fencer in history has won more medals in major competition than him.
Greatest Paralympians of all time
Paavo Nurmi (Finland, Athletics, 12 medals), Birgit Fischer (Germany, Kayaking, 12 medals), Sawao Kato (Japan, Artistic Gymnastics, 12 medals), Mark Spitz (USA, Swimming, 11 medals) and Matt Biondi (USA, Swimming, 11 medals) made up the top ten of the most decorated Olympians in the world.
Who will be the next sportsperson to access the top of most decorated Olympians of all time? Katie Ledecky, Simon Biles, or Caleb Dressel are currently pushing hard… Place your bets!
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