The Olympics in Rio have been historic so far. Countless world and Olympic records have already fallen and hundreds of medals have been given out to the best athletes in the world. With all of these medals and records comes the question “who really is the greatest Olympic athlete of all time?" Here are some of the athletes, and their accomplishments, who could be candidates for getting the title of greatest Olympic athlete.
1. Usain Bolt
Whether you are a huge track and field fan or not you know that Usain Bolt is one of the most dominant male sprinters in history. He started his reign at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. There he won three gold medals. He won the 100m dash, 200m dash and was part of the gold medal winning 4x100m relay. Those three gold medals in Beijing meant that he won every single event he entered. Going into London with extreme confidence, Bolt earned another three gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay. Again he won every event he competed in.
Along with his three gold medals in London, he broke a world record in the 4x100m relay with their rest of his Jamaican teammates. He also owns the world records in the 100m and 200m dash although those were not broken in an Olympic game. In Rio he dominated the sprinting field once again and won gold in the 100m dash, 200m dash, and 4x100m relay. Bolt won nine Olympic gold medals in his career, went undefeated in Olympic events, and became the most decorated Track and Field sprinter ever.
2. Larisa Latynina
If you don’t already know about Larisa Latynina, you should. She is arguably the best gymnast to have ever competed. If you aren’t familiar with gymnastics, it is possible for an athlete to win six medals in one Olympic games. These six medals come from the team event, individual all around, and the four individual apparatus finals. Larisa Latynina represented the Soviet Union during her Olympic career in the 50’s and 60’s.
She attended three Olympic games, Melbourne, Rome and Tokyo, and won a total of 18 medals during those games. That means that for three straight Olympics Latynina medaled in every single event possible in the gymnastics competition. Half of those 18 medals were gold, five were silver and four were bronze.
3. Jenny Thompson
Jenny Thompson is the most decorated Olympic female swimmer of all time. She has won a total of 12 Olympic medals during her career, which spanned over four Olympic games. One of the most dominant relay swimmers for the United States, she won eight gold medals in the 4x100 freestyle, 4x200 freestyle, and the 4x100 medley relays. She also earned medals in individual freestyle events as well.
4. Jesse Owens
One of the most famous track and field athletes, Jesse Owens made a name for himself in the world of sprinting during the 1936. At these games he won four gold medals in the 100m dash, 200m dash, long jump and the 4x100m relay. Although he may not be the athlete with the highest amount of Olympic medals won, he is considered one of the greatest Olympic athletes due to the caliber he was competing at during his track and field career.
5. Michael Phelps
The most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps. Phelps has been on the Olympic swimming scene since 2004 when he was only 19 years old. At those games, he won eight medals. Six of those medals were gold and two of them were bronze. This was only the beginning for Phelps. At the Beijing Olympic games, Phelps was entered to compete in eight races. Not only did he make the finals for all eight of these events, he won gold in all of them. Phelps went eight for eight, which is the record for the highest amount of gold medals won in a single games.
London proved to be successful for Phelps once again where he won six total medals. Four of them were gold while the other two were silver. Phelps closed out his swimming career with the Rio games and proved once again why he is the most decorated Olympian of all time. Out of the six events he competed in, five of them ended with gold medals and one with silver. During his Olympic swimming career, he won a total of 28 medals. Twenty-three of those medals were gold. During the process, he broke five world records across various events. Two of those world records still stand today.
