Table of Contents
15 Most Honored Athletes of All Time
There are numerous athletes, but the best have more medals and more records than others. Despite the fact that athletes always play to win, they do not always win. The ability to win distinguishes legends from ordinary players. Furthermore, no one recalls the 25th-ranked tennis player. However, we recall the number 1.
Fans spend hours on the internet debating who is the most decorated athlete.
So, in this list, we’ll be discussing the athletes with the most medals and trophies.
15 Most Honored Athletes of All Time
We also included players who have won the most Olympic medals. The list is based on information from Business Insider.
| S.N. | Name | Olympic Medals |
| 15 | Dara Torres | 12 |
| 14 | Sawao Kato | 12 |
| 13 | Bjørn Dæhlie | 12 |
| 12 | Birgit Fischer | 12 |
| 11 | Paavo Nurmi | 12 |
| 10 | Jenny Thompson | 12 |
| 9 | Ryan Lochte | 12 |
| 8 | Takashi Ono | 13 |
| 7 | Edoardo Mangiarotti | 13 |
| 6 | Ole Einar Bjorndalen | 13 |
| 5 | Boris Shakhlin | 13 |
| 4 | Nikolai Andrianov | 15 |
| 3 | Marit Bjorgen | 15 |
| 2 | Larisa Latynina | 18 |
| 1 | Michael Phelps | 28 |
Torres, Dara
People plan for retirement and experience midlife crises at the age of 41.
Dara Torres, on the other hand, was representing her country at the age of 41, unlike others.
She represented the United States at the Olympics five times.
Dara Torress competed in the butterfly and freestyle swimming events.
She won four gold medals, four silver medals, and four bronze medals.
As a result, she is one of the top three female swimmers of all time.
Aside from that, she has won at least one medal in each of her Olympic appearances.
Only the most decorated athlete has such consistency.
Sawao Kato (14th)
Japan has produced world-class athletes over the years.
That is why Japan has been so successful in the Olympics.
Sawao Kato is a former Olympic gymnast who won eight gold medals.
As a result, he is one of the most decorated gymnasts in history.
During the 1968 and 1976 Olympics, the Japanese athlete won the most medals.
There are currently only ten athletes who have won at least eight gold medals in the Olympics.
Even at the age of 75, he appears to be in great shape.
Sawao Kato left the company at the age of 31.
13th. Bjrn Dhlie
In their home country, the highly decorated athlete is also regarded as a celebrity.
Bjrn Dhlie is an example of a celebrity Olympian athlete.
Bjrn won eight gold medals as a skier during his Olympic career.
He won 12 medals in total at the Olympics.
His natural ability to use more oxygen is one of the reasons for his high performance.
The most efficient athletes consume up to 90 ml/kg/min of oxygen.
Bjorn, on the other hand, has an oxygen consumption of up to 96 and can even go up to 100 ml/kg/min.
His naturally gifted ability contributed to his success as an athlete.
In addition, he is a successful real estate and fashion tycoon.
Birgit Fischer 12
The Olympics are remarkable in that they include a variety of sports.
Canoe racing is not a popular sport all over the world.
Despite this, Birgit Fisher won eight gold medals in the Canoe Sprint.
From 1980 to 2004, she competed in the Olympics.
Throughout her career, she has represented both East Germany and Germany.
She won three gold medals and one silver for East Germany.
Birgit also holds the distinction of being the youngest and oldest canoeing champion in history.
Birgit was 18 when she won her first gold medal, and 42 when she won her last.
Paavo Nurmi, 11
The physical infrastructure of today’s athletes is better.
They are also more concerned with diet and exercise.
Athletes did not have adequate training facilities in the 1920s.
As a result, Paavo Nurmi’s Olympic record of nine gold medals is quite remarkable.
Paavo won the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters, team cross country, and individual cross country events.
Nobody beat him in the 10,000 meters or cross-country events.
He won the 1500 and 5000 meters races in the same hour at the 1924 Olympics.
Not only that, but he broke both world records. That’s a lot of endurance.
Jenny Thompson
The United States has produced some of the best swimmers of all time.
The United States has the most decorated male and female swimmer athletes.
Jenny Thompson is the most adorned female swimmer in history.
Her Olympic journey began in 1992.
Despite high expectations, her performance in her first Olympics was disappointing.
She did, however, win two gold medals in team events.
Jenny Thompson made a comeback in the following Olympics, winning bronze in the 100-meter freestyle.
She was once again instrumental in the team freestyle relay’s victory.
Ryan Lochte
Ryan Lochte is yet another highly decorated American swimmer.
In the Olympics, Ryan competed in the backstroke, freestyle, and individual medley.
During his Olympic career, he won six gold medals, three silver medals, and three bronze medals.
He currently holds the world record in the 200-meter individual medley.
Aside from that, he was named World Swimmer of the Year in 2013.
Despite being a great swimmer, he was overshadowed by another great, Michael Phelps.
Takashi Ono, No. 8
Japan has consistently produced outstanding gymnasts over the years.
Perhaps it’s because of the country’s history with martial arts and other sports.
Takashi Ono is regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.
He competed in four Olympics and won medals in almost all of them.
In these appearances, he won five gold, four silver, and four bronze medals.
He took the Olympics oath on behalf of Japan at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
In 1998, the International Gymnastics Association inducted him into the Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Mangiarotti, Edoardo
Fencing is also known as modern sword fighting.
Despite being a minor sport, it has produced one of the Olympics’ most decorated athletes.
Edoardo Mangiarotti won his first Olympic gold medal in 1936.
The Olympics were organized by Nazi Germany. Italy defeated Sweden in the team epee event.
He had to wait until 1952, however, to win a gold medal in the individual category.
He won six gold medals during his career.
Similarly, in the Olympics, he won five silver and two bronze medals.
Ole Einar Bjorndalen, No. 6
Biathlon is one of the most intriguing Olympic sports that combine other sports.
Of course, there are events where participants must swim, cycle, and run.
In contrast, biathlon combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
Ole Einar Bjorndalen is the undisputed biathlon champion.
He has won eight gold medals in his Olympic career.
He has won 13 medals in total at the Olympics.
For his achievements, he has been dubbed “The King of Biathlon.”
Martin is also the most successful biathlete in the history of the Biathlon World Championships.
He has nearly twice as many medals as any other biathlete.
Boris Shakhlin is number six
Gymnastics was dominated by the Japanese during the twentieth century.
Only Boris Shaklin and Nikolia Andrianov were able to defeat the Japanese gymnasts.
Boris Shakhlin was the most well-known gymnast during the 1960s.
The Russian gymnast won three gold medals in a row at the Olympics.
He began gymnastics training when he was 12 years old.
He later made his Olympic debut in 1956.
In his Olympic career, the gymnast won 13 medals.
Despite his physical fitness, he died of a heart attack at the age of 35.
He then retired from gymnastics.
He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Andrianov, Nikolai
Boris Shakhlin held the record for the most Olympic gold medals won by a gymnast for nearly a decade.
In the 1980 Olympics, Nikolai Andrianov broke Brois’ record and became the undisputed gymnastics champion.
The Russian gymnast was interested in gymnastics since he was in elementary school.
In the 1970s, he dominated the gymnastics world.
He won seven medals in the 1976 Olympics alone.
During the Olympics, he won four gold, two silver, and a bronze medal, making him one of the most decorated athletes of all time.
Nikolai became an all-time legend thanks to a single Olympic victory.
Likewise, he captured four World Championships and nine European Championships.
Bjorgen, Marit
In Nordic countries, cross-country skiing is a popular sport.
As a result, these countries dominate cross-country skiing at the Olympics.
Marit Bjorgen is the most decorated athlete among them.
She has eight gold, four silver, and three bronze medals to her name.
Marit Bjorgen makes skiing appear effortless.
The skier must compete over a distance of more than 20 kilometers.
We’re all wondering how she does it, especially since she has asthma.
In fact, due to bronchitis, she had a disappointing start to the Olympics.
She had to wait until 2010 to win her first Olympic gold medal as a result.
Marit took gold in the 10km sprint for the first time.
She has competed in five Olympics to date.
Marit Bjorgen holds the record for the most medals won in the Winter Olympics.
Latynina, Larisa
Larisa Latynina is the second-most decorated athlete in history.
During her Olympic career, she won a total of 18 medals.
Her life story reads like a screenplay. Larisa was born in Russia to a poor family.
Her father was killed in the Battle of Stalingrad while fighting the Nazis.
Larisa initially aspired to be a ballet dancer.
She did, however, join gymnastics after her choreographer moved away from her hometown.
At the age of 21, she won her first Olympic gold medal.
In her career, the artistic gymnast has won nine gold medals, five silver medals, and four bronze medals.
Also, read Carli Lloyd, Brad Kaaya, Charley Casserly
Phelps, Michael
Michael Phelps is undoubtedly the most decorated athlete of all time.
Every other competitor is crushed by him.
Michael has received 28 medals, which is ten more than his competitors.
Most athletes hope to win ten medals at the Olympics.
There are countries that have not won 28 Olympic medals.
Phelps also holds the record for the most gold medals, with 23.
Similarly, he has the most Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), as well as the most Olympic medals in individual events (16).
He’s done the butterfly, individual medley, freestyle, and backstroke.
Since the 2004 Athens Olympics, Michael has won medals in every Olympics.
