Marit Bjorgen: After Phelps, the closest athletes in terms of medal count are Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina (18), Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjorgen (15), and Soviet Union gymnast Nikolai Andrianov (15). All three have won multiple medals. Bjorgen has five gold medals and one silver, while Latynina and Andrianov each have four golds.
The most decorated winter Olympian is American bobsledder Dave Roberts, who has seven medals from two events (four gold, three bronze). The other six winners have six medals between them. Norway's Bjorgen is next with 15 medals, followed by Latvia's Latynina and Canada's Jean Robichaud.
At these Games, everyone is talking about Michael Phelps. He is an amazing swimmer and a great role model for young people all over the world. But besides him, there are many other talented swimmers such as China's Wang Feilong, Russia's Yana Klochkova, or USA's David Nolan, who could win more medals. At this year's Olympics, there were only eight women's swimming events, which means that fewer competitors are likely to win medals than in previous years. Also, some countries might not send their best swimmers to avoid burning out too many stars.
Marit Bjorgen of Norway is the most decorated Winter Olympian, with 15 medals (8 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze). She won three gold medals at each of the first two Winter Olympics she competed in, in 1992 and 1994.
Bjorgen's achievements have made her one of the most respected athletes in Norwegian history. The country never has had a female president or prime minister, but Bjorgen is often mentioned as a possible candidate because of her influence over both politics and sports.
The most decorated American is Bill Koch, with 8 medals (3 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze). He won three gold medals at each of the first two Winter Olympics he competed in, in 1976 and 1980.
Koch was born in Minneapolis, but grew up in Park City, Utah. He became interested in skiing while attending the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met his wife, Annette, who also studied there. They got married in 1975 and have two children together. After graduating with a degree in business administration, Koch decided to pursue a career in skiing. He moved to Norway in order to train under Russian coaches who would not come to America due to the Cold War.
Marit Bjorgen is among the athletes who have won several Winter Olympics medals.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marit Bjørgen | Norway |
| 2 | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Norway |
| 3 | Bjørn Dæhlie | Norway |
| 4 | Ireen Wüst | Netherlands |
The athlete with the most winter medals is also from Norway. According to the International Olympic Committee, biathlon participant Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has won 13 medals, eight of which are gold, making him the most decorated Winter Olympic athlete. He plans to compete in the Olympics again in PyeongChang with the objective of earning even more money. The Norwegian sports body will not allow Bjoerndalen to compete in both the individual and team events, so he will have to choose one or the other.
Bjoerndalen's record is very impressive, but it is probably not enough to take down two-time gold medal winner Michael Phelps. The American swimmer has dominated the pool since 2004, when he started winning almost all his races. His best season was 2009 when he broke his own world record in every single event he participated in. He has won 33 medals in total, 22 of them being gold. It is unlikely that Phelps will lose his throne anytime soon.
Another strong candidate for this title is one-time ice hockey player Eric Lindros. The Canadian born athlete competed in three different sports at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He finished first in the men's field handball tournament and therefore qualified Canada for the final match against Germany. However, the Canadians lost to Germany and failed to win a medal. Lindros decided to quit sport after that disappointing result and moved to France, where he started a career in hockey.
And while some of them guys have won several medals, Larisa Latinya, who earned 18 medals for the Soviet Union, is the all-time medal winner. She is followed by Michael Phelps of the United States, who won 14 gold medals—a complete list is provided below. Many countries have produced Olympic medalists; nevertheless, this individual did not. He's the greatest of all time.
Larisa Latynych was a Soviet gymnast who had an incredible career and is still regarded as one of the best ever. She was also known as "The Latvian Lioness" because she represented her country when it was part of the USSR. At the Moscow Olympics in 1980, she became the first woman to win five gold medals when she captured titles on the vault, balance beam, and two individual events (floor exercise and parallel bars). Her final competition at these games was the bronze-medal match on the floor exercise against Canada's Sylvie Poulin. It was there that Latynych successfully defended her title with a score of 15.934.
With her victory, Latynych became only the second female athlete after Carlotta Daviess to win five gold medals at a single Olympics (the other being American Sarah Hughes at the 1908 Games in London). The 1980 Moscow Olympics were also the last to be held before the fall of the Soviet Union, making Latynych an unofficial ambassador for her country during its most difficult times.
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