Hundreds of athletes have stood on the podium in the history of the Olympic Games, but some have done so more than once. At the top of this ranking is American swimmer Michael Phelps, who holds a record 28 medals, 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.
First among women, former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina comes second in the overall ranking, with 18 medals (9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze). Two other former gymnasts from the former Soviet Union appear in third and fourth place. Third on the list, Nikolai Andrianov has 15 Olympic medals, 7 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze. Next comes Boris Shakhlin, with 13 (7 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze).
Among the 25 greatest medalists in history, there are 15 men and 10 women, and all have won at least ten medals at the Games. In addition to the first, the USA appears with ten other athletes in the ranking, with emphasis on swimming.
With several medals up for grabs in each edition of the Games, artistic gymnastics also stands out with several names among the top 25 medalists. In all, eight former gymnasts appear, second only to swimming, which adds up to nine names in the ranking.
Despite being a sport that distributes a high number of medals, athletics has only three athletes among the 25 greatest medalists in history. Highlight for the former Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi, who won 9 golds and 3 silvers at the Antwerp-1920, Paris-1924 and Amsterdam-1928 Games.
In addition to him, there is the American sprinter Allyson Felix, who won 11 medals in her career, 7 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze). His compatriot Carl Lewis has 10 Olympic podiums in athletics. Lewis, who shone in the 100 and 200 m dashes and the long jump, won 9 golds and 1 silver in his Olympic appearances.
Among the top 25 medalists, there are also former athletes from less popular sports. This is the case of fencing, which appears with Italian Edoardo Mangiarotti in fifth place and Hungarian Aladár Gerevich in 25th. Mangiarott won 13 medals, 6 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze, and Gerevich has ten, with 7 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze.
Also noteworthy are the German Birgit Fischer, who won 12 medals (8 golds and 4 silvers) defending East Germany and Germany in canoeing at the Games; the American Carl Osburn, who won 11 medals (5 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze) in the shooting events; and the German Isabell Werth, who climbed the podium 12 times (7 golds and 5 silvers) in equestrianism.
See below for the full list of medalists:
1st Michael Phelps (USA, Swimming): 28 medals – 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze
2nd Larisa Latynina (Russia, Artistic Gymnastics): 18 medals – 9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze
3rd Nikolai Andrianov (Russia, Artistic Gymnastics): 15 medals – 7 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze
4th Boris Shakhlin (Russia, Artistic Gymnastics): 13 medals – 7 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze
5th Edoardo Mangiarotti (Italy, Fencing): 13 medals – 6 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze
6th Takashi Ono (Japan, Artistic Gymnastics): 13 medals – 5 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze
7th Paavo Nurmi (Finland, Athletics): 12 medals – 9 gold and 3 silver
8th Birgit Fischer (Germany, Canoeing): 12 medals – 8 golds and 4 silvers
9th Sawao Katō (Japan, Artistic Gymnastics): 12 medals – 8 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze
9th Jenny Thompson (USA, Swimming): 12 medals – 8 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze
11th Isabell Werth (Germany, Equestrian): 12 medals – 7 golds and 5 silvers
12th Ryan Lochte (USA, Swimming): 12 medals – 6 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze
13th Dara Torres (USA, Swimming): 12 medals – 4 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze
14th Alexei Nemov (Russia, Artistic Gymnastics): 12 medals – 4 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze
15th Natalie Coughlin (USA, Swimming) 12 medals – 3 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze
16th Mark Spitz (USA, Swimming): 11 medals – 9 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze
17th Matt Biondi (USA, Swimming): 11 medals – 8 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze
18th Věra Čáslavská (Czechoslovakia, Artistic Gymnastics): 11 medals – 7 golds and 4 silvers
19th Viktor Chukarin (Russia, Artistic Gymnastics): 11 medals – 7 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze
19th Allyson Felix (USA, Athletics): 11 medals – 7 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze
21st Carl Osburn (USA, Shooting): 11 medals – 5 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze
22nd Emma McKeon (Australia, Swimming) 11 medals – 5 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze
23rd Carl Lewis (USA, Athletics): 10 medals – 9 golds and 1 silver
24th Katie Ledecky (USA, Swimming): 10 medals – 7 golds and 3 silvers
25th Aladár Gerevich (Hungary, Fencing): 10 medals – 7 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronzes
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