How many Olympians can you name? Michael Phelps, right? Simone Biles, of course. Depending on your age, maybe even Olga Korbut, Mark Spitz, Nadia Comaneci …
Are those really the greatest Olympians of all time though? Well, one way to tell is to simply count up the medals.
Now, would such a tally give us the same Olympians as those who everybody remembers? I mean, there are a lot of different sports in the Olympics – not just the glamorous ones like swimming and gymnastics. There are also probably a lot of non-charismatic, totally normal-looking, workaday types out there too. Heck, there might even be some from countries other than the G12 and the BRICs.
Let’s see what we’ve got. I’m listing the top 10 in total medal count, from least to most. Enjoy!
10. Bjørn Dæhlie
12 – 8 gold, 4 silver
Norway
Cross-country skiing
1992-1998
Note: Has had a very successful post-skiing career in real estate, fashion & TV
10. Birgit Fischer
12 – 8 gold, 4 silver
Germany
Canoeing
1980-2004
Note: First medal at 18, the last at 42
9. Paavo Nurmi
12 – 9 gold, 3 silver
Finland
Track
1920-1928
Note: Basically, the Michael Phelps of his day
8. Takashi Ono
13 – 5 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze
Japan
Gymnastics
1952-1964
Note: Married a fellow Japanese Olympic gymnast
7. Edoardo Mangiarotti
13 – 6 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze
Italian
Fencing
1936-1960
Note: Made the Italian team at age 16
13 – 7 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze
Russian
Gymnastics
1956-1964
Note: Retired at 35 after suffering a heart attack
5. Ole Einar Bjørndalen
13 – 8 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze
Norway
Biathlon
1998-2014
Note: Only athlete ever to win all biathlon events in a single Olympics
4. Nikolai Andrianov
15 – 7 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze
Russian
Gymnastics
1972-1980
Married Russian Olympic gymnast Lyubov Burda
3. Marit Bjørgen
15 – 8 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze
Norway
Cross-country skiing
2002-2018
Note: Most decorated athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics
2. Larisa Latynina
18 – 9 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze
Russian
Gymnastics
1956-1964
Note: Head coach of the Soviet team for 10 years
1. Michael Phelps
28 – 23 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze
USA
Swimming
2004-2016
Note: Here’s one you may have heard of
Hey, how ‘bout those Norwegians though!
