The greatest Olympic athletes in history

Every four years the most important sporting event in the world takes place: the Olympic Games. Athletes from all countries around the world gather in various disciplines to compete to be the best in their category. Throughout history many athletes have taken part, but only a few have been able to become the greatest Olympic athletes in history.

Athletes in the Modern Olympic Games

The modern Olympic Games were held for the first time in the city of Athens in 1896 and since then have continued to be held in different world venues every 4 years. These games have their origin in the ancient games and sporting events held in honor of the gods in the various sanctuaries of the Greek city-states. Those of the sanctuary of Olympia, dedicated to the god Zeus, were among the most famous and are the ones from which the current sporting competitions take their name.

Over nearly two centuries, many men and women have competed with the goal of winning medals in various categories, but only a few, due to their physical abilities, have been rated as the greatest Olympic athletes in history. At the end of 2016, after the Rio de Janeiro games, swimmer Michael Phelps was considered the greatest Olympic athlete of all time due to his record and the records broken throughout his professional career.

The Greatest Olympic Athletes in History

Sport Illustrated magazine, one of the most famous in the world of sport, awarded two years ago the title of greatest Olympic athlete of all time to the American Michael Phelps. This award was motivated by the 28 medals obtained by the swimmer at that time, of which 23 were gold. In the last Olympic Games held (Rio 2016), he won 5 gold medals and one silver.

• Mark Andrew Spitz: also in the swimming category, we find this American who held the record for gold medals in a single games until 2008, the year Phelps took the record from him. He won a total of 7 gold medals at the Munich Games in 1972. Additionally, he is known for breaking the world record set in each of his medals. He only participated in these games and retired at the age of 22.
• Larisa Latynina: is considered one of the best gymnasts in the world. Of Ukrainian origin, she won 18 medals in 4 editions of the Olympic Games. She debuted at the Melbourne games in 1956 at the age of 21, married and with three children, a true milestone for women and sport in those years. She retired in 1964 at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
• Nadia Comaneci: continuing Latynina’s legacy, the Romanian is considered one of the best gymnasts of the twentieth century as no one before in history had achieved a score of 10 in the Olympic Games. Her number of medals throughout her career is 5 golds and 3 silvers in the Olympic Games.
• Usain Bolt: the Jamaican athlete holds the world records for 100 and 200 meters and has 6 Olympic golds.
• Jesse Owens: he only participated in one Olympic Games, Berlin 1936, where he won 4 gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and relay race. His records would be surpassed by Carl Lewis, nicknamed “Son of the Wind,” who won 10 gold medals in 12 years. He finally retired at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.