The 16 Most Decorated Olympians of All Time

Medal counts sound objective until you notice how many events some sports offer and how few others do. Sixteen careers, wildly different arithmetic.

1

Simone Biles

Eleven Olympic medals across three Games, seven of them gold.

2

Michael Phelps

Won 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold, more than any athlete in any sport.

3

Larisa Latynina

Soviet gymnast with 18 medals, the record for 48 years until Phelps passed her.

4

Marit Bjorgen

Norwegian cross-country skier and the most decorated Winter Olympian, with 15 medals.

5

Nikolai Andrianov

Soviet gymnast who won 15 medals across three Games in the 1970s.

6

Isabell Werth

German dressage rider with 14 medals, the most of any equestrian.

7

Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Norwegian biathlete with 13 Winter Olympic medals across six Games.

8

Boris Shakhlin

Soviet gymnast who took 13 medals between 1956 and 1964.

9

Edoardo Mangiarotti

Italian fencer with 13 medals across five Games, six of them gold.

10

Takashi Ono

Japanese gymnast who won 13 medals across four Games from 1952.

11

Paavo Nurmi

The Flying Finn, who won 12 medals in distance running in the 1920s.

12

Birgit Fischer

German canoeist with 12 medals won 24 years apart, across two flags.

13

Sawao Kato

Japanese gymnast with 12 medals and eight golds across three Games.

14

Jenny Thompson

American swimmer with 12 medals, eight of them gold, mostly in relays.

15

Dara Torres

American swimmer who won 12 medals across five Games spanning 24 years.

16

Allyson Felix

The most decorated track and field Olympian from the United States, with 11 medals.