Key points from the infographic
- The graphic ranks nine athletes by total Olympic medals, as of 28 July 2024, citing Britannica as its source.
- Michael Phelps leads by a wide margin with 28 medals, 23 of them gold. Larisa Latynina is second with 18.
- Four of the nine are gymnasts. Three competed for the Soviet Union and two for Norway.
- All the totals match Wikipedia’s list of multiple Olympic medallists except Ole Einar Bjørndalen’s, and several of the gold, silver and bronze splits are wrong. See the notes below.
The most dominant Olympic athletes of all time, the infographic in text
Title. The Most Dominant Olympic Athletes of All Time. Columns: athlete, medal breakdown, total. Each athlete’s country is shown only by a flag.
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country (flag) | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Phelps | Swimming | United States | 23 | 3 | 2 | 28 |
| 2 | Larisa Latynina | Gymnastics | Soviet Union | 9 | 5 | 4 | 18 |
| 3 | Nikolay Andrianov | Gymnastics | Soviet Union | 8 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | Marit Bjørgen | Cross-country skiing | Norway | 7 | 5 | 3 | 15 |
| 5 | Ono Takashi | Gymnastics | Japan | 8 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 6 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | Fencing | Italy | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
| 7 | Ireen Wüst | Speed skating | Netherlands | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| 8 | Boris Shakhlin | Gymnastics | Soviet Union | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| 9 | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Cross-country skiing, biathlon | Norway | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
Footer. As of July 28, 2024. Source: Britannica. A small black logo with no text.
How the list looks today
Wikipedia’s list of multiple Olympic medallists, which counts Summer and Winter Games together, still has Phelps first with 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze, then Latynina with 9, 5 and 4 [1]. Marit Bjørgen is third with 8, 4 and 3, and Nikolai Andrianov fourth with 7, 5 and 3 [1].
The ranking has changed since July 2024. Katie Ledecky (swimming, United States) is now fifth with 9 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze, 14 in all [1]. Isabell Werth (equestrian, Germany), Emma McKeon (swimming, Australia), Arianna Fontana (short-track speed skating, Italy) and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (cross-country skiing, Norway) also now rank among the top 10 [1]. Klæbo has 11 gold medals, the most of anyone on the list after Phelps [1].
The graphic measures dominance by medal count. As people discussing it on Reddit pointed out, swimmers and gymnasts can enter many more events at one Games than athletes in sports with a single event, so the count favours some sports over others [2].
Notes on this infographic
The totals for eight of the nine athletes are right, but the medal splits for six athletes do not match Wikipedia’s list of multiple Olympic medallists [1]. The figures appear to have been swapped between pairs of athletes:
| Athlete | Gold, silver, bronze on the graphic | Gold, silver, bronze on Wikipedia’s list (total) |
|---|---|---|
| Nikolay Andrianov | 8, 4, 3 | 7, 5, 3 (15) |
| Marit Bjørgen | 7, 5, 3 | 8, 4, 3 (15) |
| Ono Takashi | 8, 4, 1 | 5, 4, 4 (13) |
| Edoardo Mangiarotti | 7, 4, 2 | 6, 5, 2 (13) |
| Boris Shakhlin | 6, 5, 2 | 7, 4, 2 (13) |
| Ole Einar Bjørndalen | 5, 4, 4 | 8, 4, 2 (14) |
- Bjørndalen’s total on Wikipedia’s list is 14, not 13, and he is listed under biathlon [1].
- The graphic writes Nikolay Andrianov and Ono Takashi; Wikipedia uses Nikolai Andrianov and Takashi Ono [1].
- The source line names Britannica, but the graphic does not say who made it, and we could not identify the maker of the logo. The earliest copy we found was posted to Reddit’s r/Infographics on 1 August 2024 by user AmbitionDue1421 [2], which does not establish who created it.
Questions about Olympic dominance
Who is the most dominant Olympic athlete of all time?
By medals won, it is Michael Phelps. Wikipedia’s list puts him first with 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold, won in swimming from 2004 to 2016 [1]. Second place, Larisa Latynina, has 18 [1].
Who are the most successful Olympic athletes of all time?
On medal totals, the top four on Wikipedia’s list are Phelps (28), Latynina (18), Bjørgen (15) and Andrianov (15), followed by Ledecky with 14 [1].
Which gymnast has won the most Olympic medals?
Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union has the most medals of the gymnasts on the graphic, 18, with 9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze, as of 28 July 2024. That puts her second overall behind Michael Phelps. The other gymnasts listed are Nikolay Andrianov with 15, and Ono Takashi and Boris Shakhlin with 13 each, although Wikipedia's gold, silver and bronze splits differ for all three [1].
How many Olympic medals does Ole Einar Bjørndalen have?
Wikipedia's list of multiple Olympic medallists gives Ole Einar Bjørndalen 14 medals, 8 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze, and lists him under biathlon [1]. The graphic shows him with 13 medals, split 5 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze. His is the only total on the graphic that does not match Wikipedia's list.
Sources
- Wikipedia, List of multiple Olympic medalists, opened 30 October 2026.
- Reddit, r/Infographics, Most Dominant Olympic Athletes of all time, Phelps on top, posted by AmbitionDue1421, 1 August 2024.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
