Earning an invitation to the Olympics is a dream come true for any athlete, but the greatest Olympians of all-time represented their country better than anyone. They achieved excellence in their respective sports, serving as role models, inspiration, and idols for generations to come.
The Olympic Games date back as early as 776 B.C. in Olympia, though many believe they started even earlier. While the tradition would eventually fade away, the Olympic Games were revived in 1896 when Baron Pierre de Coubertin set out to create a modern-day Olympics.
Since the revival, which took place in Athens, Greece, a total of 29 Summer Olympics and 23 Winter Olympics have taken place across Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania. It has become the most respected and popular sporting competition in the entire world.
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Who Are the Greatest Olympians of All-Time?
Between the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, which alternate every two years, thousands of athletes are given an opportunity to achieve greatness on the biggest stage in the world. By the closing ceremony, only three players will take home a medal in each event.
While the Gold Medal is the most valuable medal, there’s still a lot to be said about winning a Silver or Bronze Medal. The greatest Olympians of all-time were known for their Gold Medals, but that doesn’t mean we should overlook all their other achievements in the Olympic Games.
The greatest Olympians of all-time come from a wide range of backgrounds, sports, and countries. They’ll forever be remembered for their efforts in their respective sport and will go down in history as some of the most inspirational, influential, and motivational athletes ever.
25. Boris Shakhlin
Sport: Gymnastics
Country: Soviet Union
Years: 1956, 1960, 1964
Gold Medals: 7
Silver Medals: 4
Bronze Medals: 2
Boris Shakhlin finished his Olympic career with 13 medals, which ranks sixth all-time. Seven of his medals came in 1960. At the time of his retirement, no male athlete had more Olympic medals and he was eventually inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2002.
24. Allyson Felix
Sport: Track & Field
Country: United States
Years: 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020
Gold Medals: 7
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 1
Allyson Felix began her Olympic career as a 200-meter specialist, but eventually added the 400-meter sprint to her repertoire. Six of her seven Olympic Gold Medals came as a member of the 4 x 400 and 4 x 100 meter relay teams — including a world record in the 4 x 100 meter relay.
23. Nikolai Andrianov
Sport: Gymnastics
Country: Soviet Union
Years: 1972, 1976, 1980
Gold Medals: 7
Silver Medals: 5
Bronze Medals: 3
From 1980-2008, Nikolai Andrianov held the record for most Olympic medals by a male athlete. 12 of his 13 medals were individual medals and he had the most medals by any athlete in 1976 with seven medals — including a Gold in vault, rings, floor exercise, and all-around.
22. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Sport: Track & Field
Country: United States
Years: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996
Gold Medals: 3
Silver Medals: 1
Bronze Medals: 2
Jackie Joyner-Kersee specialized in the long jump and heptathlon — an event that includes the 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, 800-meter run, javelin, high jump, long jump, and shot put. In 1988 and 1992, she won consecutive Gold Medals in the heptathlon. She also played college basketball
21. Matt Biondi
Sport: Swimming
Country: United States
Years: 1984, 1988, 1992
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 2
Bronze Medals: 1
Matt Biondi enjoyed great success in NCAA water polo before becoming one of the greatest Olympians of all-time in swimming. He won at least one Gold Medal in three consecutive Olympic Games, including five Gold Medals and four world records in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
20. Florence Griffith-Joyner
Sport: Track & Field
Country: United States
Years: 1984, 1988
Gold Medals: 3
Silver Medals: 2
Bronze Medals: 0
Commonly known as Flo-Jo, Florence Griffith-Joyner likely would’ve finished her career with more than five Olympic medals if it weren’t for the United States’ boycott of 1980. She had an incredible 1988 Olympics, winning all three of her Gold Medals and setting two world records.
19. Jenny Thompson
Sport: Swimming
Country: United States
Years: 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 1
Not many people can say they’ve competed in four consecutive Olympic Games, but Jenny Thompson can. Her 12 medals ranks tied for 12th all-time and she’s one of just 14 athletes with 8 or more Gold Medals. She would go on to win a Gold Medal in three consecutive Olympics.
18. Teofilo Stevenson
Sport: Boxing
Country: Cuba
Years: 1972, 1976, 1980
Gold Medals: 3
Silver Medals: 0
Bronze Medals: 0
Teofilo Stevenson finished his Olympic career as one of just three boxers to ever win three Olympic Gold Medals. The Cuban amateur boxer could’ve won as many as five Gold Medals, but Cuba decided to boycott the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, ending Stevenson’s Olympic career.
17. Sawao Katō
Sport: Gymnastics
Country: Japan
Years: 1968, 1972, 1976
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 1
No Japanese Olympian has ever won more Gold Medals than Sawao Katō. He won at least two Gold Medals in three consecutive Olympics, including back-to-back Golds in the all-around (1968 and 1972), and the parallel bars (1972 and 1976). He also won three team competitions.
16. Nadia Comaneci
Sport: Gymnastics
Country: Romania
Years: 1976, 1980
Gold Medals: 5
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 1
Before Nadia Comaneci’s incredible 1976 Olympic performance, achieving a perfect 10.0 score was thought to be nearly impossible. The Romanian gymnast achieved it at the age of 14 — seven times. She went on to win three Gold Medals in 1976 and two in 1980 at the age of 18.
15. Abebe Bikila
Sport: Runner
Country: Ethiopia
Years: 1960, 1964
Gold Medals: 2
Silver Medals: 0
Bronze Medals: 0
Abebe Bikila was the first Olympian from Ethiopia to win a Gold Medal and the first to win back-to-back Gold Medals in the marathon — setting a world record both times. He decided to run the 1960 Olympic marathon barefoot after his new running shoes left him with blisters.
14. Jesse Owens
Sport: Track & Field
Country: United States
Years: 1936
Gold Medals: 4
Silver Medals: 0
Bronze Medals: 0
Jesse Owens is regarded as one of the greatest track and field athletes ever. His four Gold Medals at the 1936 Olympics infamously ruined Adolf Hitler’s idea of white supremacy. Just one year prior to that, he broke three world records in under an hour at the 1935 Big Ten track meet.
13. Ray Ewry
Sport: Track & Field
Country: United States
Years: 1900, 1904, 1908
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 0
Bronze Medals: 0
From 1908 until 2008, Ray Ewry held the record for most Olympic Gold Medals in individual events. He won multiple Gold Medals in three consecutive Olympics, including winning the long jump, high jump, and triple jump in 1900 and 1904. He’s a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
12. Katie Ledecky
Sport: Swimming
Country: United States
Years: 2012, 2016, 2020
Gold Medals: 7
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 0
Katie Ledecky is one of the most decorated Olympic swimmers of all-time with only four other swimmers winning more Gold Medals than her. She has now won multiple Gold Medals for the second straight Olympics and has won the 800-meter freestyle event three-straight times.
11. Bjørn Dæhlie
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Country: Norway
Years: 1992, 1996, 1998
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 4
Bronze Medals: 0
Bjørn Dæhlie is the most decorated male cross-country skier of all-time. He’s one of just 14 athletes with eight or more Gold Medals and won multiple Gold Medals in three consecutive Olympics. He specialized in the 10km, 30km, 50km, pursuit, and 4 x 10km relay race.
10. Ryan Lochte
Sport: Swimming
Country: United States
Years: 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
Gold Medals: 6
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 3
Ryan Lochte is one of the most decorated swimmers in Olympic history with 12 total medals, including seven individual medals. He won a Gold Medal in four consecutive Olympic Games and holds an individual world record in both the long and short course 200-meter medley.
9. Birgit Fischer
Sport: Canoeing
Country: Germany
Years: 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 4
Bronze Medals: 0
Not many athletes can say they’ve won a Gold Medal in canoeing, but Birgit Fischer has done so eight times. She’s one of five kayakers to appear in six different Olympic games and won at least one Gold Medal each time. She won both the K-2 and K-4 500-meter in 1988 and 2000.
8. Ole Einar Bjørndalen
Sport: Biathlon
Country: Norway
Years: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 4
Bronze Medals: 1
Ole Einar Bjørndalen is the greatest biathlete — cross-country skiing and rifle shooting — of all-time, winning 13 total medals across six Olympiads. He has the second-most medals among all Winter Olympic athletes and the only biathlete to win all biathlon events in the same year.
7. Marit Bjørgen
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Country: Norway
Years: 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 4
Bronze Medals: 3
Speaking of the greatest Olympians of all-time, Marit Bjørgen holds the record for most medals in the Winter Olympic Games and third-most of all Olympic athletes. She competed in five consecutive Olympics and won multiple Gold Medals in her last three Olympiad appearances.
6. Usain Bolt
Sport: Track & Field
Country: Jamaica
Years: 2008, 2012, 2016
Gold Medals: 8
Silver Medals: 0
Bronze Medals: 0
Usain Bolt will go down as one of the most famous and popular athletes of all-time, not just one of the greatest Olympians of all-time. He won the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash in three consecutive Olympics (2008-2016) and currently holds the world record in both events.
5. Paavo Nurmi
Sport: Track & Field
Country: Finland
Years: 1920, 1924, 1928
Gold Medals: 9
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 0
Paavo Nurmi was one of the most dominant distance runners in the early-1900s and one of the greatest Olympians of all-time. He won a Gold Medal in three consecutive Olympics, including five Gold Medals in 1924. He’s one of just five athletes to win nine or more Gold Medals.
4. Mark Spitz
Sport: Swimming
Country: United States
Years: 1968, 1972
Gold Medals: 9
Silver Medals: 1
Bronze Medals: 1
Mark Spitz won more medals than any other athlete during the 1972 Olympics in Munich. He won seven Gold Medals that year, setting a world record in each event. It was arguably the greatest Olympic performance the world had ever seen, until Michael Phelps came along.
3. Carl Lewis
Sport: Track & Field
Country: United States
Years: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996
Gold Medals: 9
Silver Medals: 1
Bronze Medals: 0
Carl Lewis dominated the long jump from 1984-1996, winning the Gold Medal in all four Olympics during that span. He also won consecutive Gold Medals in the 100-meter dash and won two Gold Medals in the 4 x 100-meter relay. He’s one of five athletes with 9+ Gold Medals.
2. Larisa Latynina
Sport: Gymnastics
Country: Soviet Union
Years: 1956, 1960, 1964
Gold Medals: 9
Silver Medals: 5
Bronze Medals: 4
Larisa Latynina was instrumental in establishing the Soviet Union as a leader in artistic gymnastics. Her 18 total medals was a record for 48 years until Michael Phelps arrived and is the most by any gymnast. She’s also one of five athletes with at least nine Gold Medals.
1. Michael Phelps
Sport: Swimming
Country: United States
Years: 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
Gold Medals: 23
Silver Medals: 3
Bronze Medals: 2
No Olympic athlete has ever accomplished what Michael Phelps has and it’s unclear if anyone ever will. His 23 Gold Medals is 14 more than the next closest and his 28 total medals is 10 more than the next closest. He also holds a record with eight Gold Medals in a single Olympics.
We Salute the Greatest Olympians of All-Time!
The greatest Olympians of all-time are the reason why so many people all around the world tune into the Olympic Games every two years — both in the summer and winter. They will go down as some of the greatest athletes to ever play and will forever be appreciated for their excellence.
As we prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, we look forward to whatever greatness we witness next. Every two years, someone surprises us at the Olympics and someone makes a case for being one of the greatest Olympians of all-time.
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For example, we can’t wait to see how many medals Katie Ledecky adds to her repertoire in 2024, as well as other swimming greats CaelebDressel and EmmaMcKeon. We also have our eyes on DanutaKozák (canoeing), SvetlanaRomashina (artistic swimming), and JasonKenny (cycling).
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