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.
1Simone BilesEleven Olympic medals across three Games, seven of them gold.
2Michael PhelpsWon 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold, more than any athlete in any sport.
3Larisa LatyninaSoviet gymnast with 18 medals, the record for 48 years until Phelps passed her.
4Marit BjorgenNorwegian cross-country skier and the most decorated Winter Olympian, with 15 medals.
5Nikolai AndrianovSoviet gymnast who won 15 medals across three Games in the 1970s.
6Isabell WerthGerman dressage rider with 14 medals, the most of any equestrian.
7Ole Einar BjorndalenNorwegian biathlete with 13 Winter Olympic medals across six Games.
8Boris ShakhlinSoviet gymnast who took 13 medals between 1956 and 1964.
9Edoardo MangiarottiItalian fencer with 13 medals across five Games, six of them gold.
10Takashi OnoJapanese gymnast who won 13 medals across four Games from 1952.
11Paavo NurmiThe Flying Finn, who won 12 medals in distance running in the 1920s.
12Birgit FischerGerman canoeist with 12 medals won 24 years apart, across two flags.
13Sawao KatoJapanese gymnast with 12 medals and eight golds across three Games.
14Jenny ThompsonAmerican swimmer with 12 medals, eight of them gold, mostly in relays.
15Dara TorresAmerican swimmer who won 12 medals across five Games spanning 24 years.
16Allyson FelixThe most decorated track and field Olympian from the United States, with 11 medals.
Comments
Swimming hands one athlete eight finals at a single Games; artistic gymnastics offers six events in total. The medal column is a schedule: https://youpick.best/articles/simone-biles-ranked-many-ways
