# 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.

*By YPB Team · Published August 9, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-16-most-decorated-olympians-of-all-time*

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## Current results (0 votes)

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.

Tags: sports, olympics, athletes, all-time