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Rankings & Lists

Greatest Olympic Athletes of All Time

The greatest Olympic athletes across every sport and era.

50Athletes Ranked

The greatest Olympic athletes across every sport and era.

1
MP

American·Swimming

Michael Phelps

American swimmer who won a record 23 Olympic gold medals and 28 total across five Games (2000-2016).

23 Olympic golds · 28 Olympic medals

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2
UB

Jamaican·Athletics

Usain Bolt

Fastest man in history, 'triple-triple' Olympic sprint champion.

8 Olympic golds · 11 world titles

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3
CL

American·Athletics

Carl Lewis

Nine-time Olympic gold medallist across four Games.

9 Olympic golds · 8 world titles

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4
JO

American·Athletics

Jesse Owens

Won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

4 Olympic golds · 6 world records

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5
NC

Romanian·Gymnastics

Nadia Comăneci

Romanian gymnast who became the first to score a perfect 10 in Olympic history and won 5 Olympic golds, revolutionizing women's gymnastics.

5 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

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6
SB

American·Gymnastics

Simone Biles

American artistic gymnast widely considered the greatest of all time with 7 Olympic golds and 25 World Championship medals including 19 gold

7 Olympic golds · 23 world titles

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7
LL

Soviet·Gymnastics

Larisa Latynina

Soviet gymnast who dominated the sport in 1950s-60s, holding record for most Olympic medals (18) until Michael Phelps surpassed her in 2012.

9 Olympic golds · 9 world titles

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8
MS

American·Swimming

Mark Spitz

American swimmer whose 1972 seven-gold sweep stood as the Olympic record for 36 years until Phelps.

9 Olympic golds · 11 Olympic medals

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9
SS

British·Rowing

Sir Steve Redgrave

British rowing legend who won five consecutive Olympic gold medals from 1984-2000, making him one of Britain's greatest Olympians of all tim

5 Olympic golds · 6 Olympic medals

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10
SH

Norwegian·Figure Skating

Sonja Henie

Norwegian figure skater who dominated women's skating from 1927-1936, winning 3 Olympic golds and 10 consecutive World Championships before

3 Olympic golds · 10 world titles

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11
BD

Norwegian·Winter Sports

Björn Dæhlie

Norwegian cross-country skier widely regarded as the greatest in the sport's history, with 8 Olympic golds and 17 World Championship titles.

8 Olympic golds · 9 world titles

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12
EH

American·Speed Skating

Eric Heiden

Five gold medals at Lake Placid 1980 across every speed skating distance — the greatest single-Games performance in Winter Olympics history.

5 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

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13
FG

American·Athletics

Florence Griffith-Joyner

'Flo-Jo' set the still-standing 100m and 200m WRs at 1988 Olympics.

3 Olympic golds

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14
JJ

American·Athletics

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Widely regarded as the greatest female athlete of the 20th century.

3 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

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15
SM

British/Somali·Athletics

Sir Mo Farah

Olympic 5000m/10000m double-double champion.

4 Olympic golds · 6 world titles

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16
KL

American·Swimming

Katie Ledecky

First woman to win four Olympic golds in a single individual event (800 free), and holds the record for most World Championship golds in swi

9 Olympic golds · 14 Olympic medals

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17
KU

Japanese·Gymnastics

Kohei Uchimura

Japanese artistic gymnast widely considered the greatest male gymnast of all time, winning consecutive Olympic all-around titles in 2012 and

3 Olympic golds · 10 world titles

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18
JH

Norwegian·Winter Sports

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo

Norwegian cross-country skier and sprint specialist, multiple Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, dominant force in modern cross-c

11 Olympic golds · 15 world titles

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19
MB

Norwegian·Winter Sports

Marit Bjørgen

Norwegian cross-country skier and most successful Winter Olympian of all time with 15 Olympic medals including 8 golds across five Olympic G

8 Olympic golds · 18 world titles

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20
OE

Norwegian·Winter Sports

Ole Einar Bjørndalen

Norwegian biathlete widely considered the greatest of all time, holding the record for most Olympic medals in Winter Olympic history with 13

8 Olympic golds · 20 world titles

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21
EM

Belgian·Cycling

Eddy Merckx

A Belgian racer who won 11 Grand Tours and all five Monuments, amassing over 500 professional victories across his career.

5× Tour de France · 11 grand tour wins

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22
BF

German·Canoeing

Birgit Fischer

German canoeist and kayaker, the most successful female Olympic paddler in history with 8 Olympic gold medals spanning six Games from 1980-2

Olympic Gold x8 (1980-2004)

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23
JT

Norwegian·Winter Sports

Johannes Thingnes Bø

Norwegian biathlete who became one of the most dominant athletes in the sport, winning multiple Olympic golds and World Championship titles

5 Olympic golds · 23 world titles

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24
SW

American·Tennis

Serena Williams

American great who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of any player in the Open Era, and four Olympic gold medals.

23 Grand Slams · 319 weeks at No.1

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25
ND

Serbian·Tennis

Novak Djokovic

Serbian great who holds the men's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles and the record for most weeks at world No. 1.

24 Grand Slams · 428 weeks at No.1

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26
MC

Australian·Tennis

Margaret Court

Australian who holds the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles and completed the calendar-year Grand Slam in 1970.

24 Grand Slams · 192 titles

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27
SG

German·Tennis

Steffi Graf

German great who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and is the only player, male or female, to complete the Golden Slam by winning all four ma

22 Grand Slams · 377 weeks at No.1

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28
FP

Hungarian/Spanish·Football

Ferenc Puskás

Real Madrid's Golden Age striker and captain of the Mighty Magyars — one of the greatest scorers in football history.

670 career goals · 84 international goals

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29
MF

French·Winter Sports

Martin Fourcade

Five Olympic gold medals and seven consecutive World Cup overall titles — Martin Fourcade is the greatest biathlete since Bjørndalen.

6 Olympic golds · 13 world titles

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30
EP

Brazilian·Football

Edson Pelé

Three-time World Cup winner widely considered the greatest footballer of all time. Scored 757 career goals for Santos and Brazil.

680 career goals · 77 international goals

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31
RN

Spanish·Tennis

Rafael Nadal

Spanish great who won a record 14 French Open titles among his 22 Grand Slam singles titles, and led Spain to five Davis Cup crowns.

22 Grand Slams · 209 weeks at No.1

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32
CR

Portuguese·Football

Cristiano Ronaldo

Portuguese footballer widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, five-time Ballon d'Or winner and all-time international to

600 career goals · 135 international goals

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33
RF

Swiss·Tennis

Roger Federer

Swiss great celebrated for his elegant all-court game who won 20 Grand Slam singles titles and spent a record 310 weeks as world No. 1.

20 Grand Slams · 310 weeks at No.1

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34
LC

New Zealander·Canoeing

Lisa Carrington

New Zealand canoeist and sprint kayaker, multiple Olympic gold medalist and world champion, considered one of the greatest paddlers of all t

Olympic Gold Medal K1 200m (2012)

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35
FM

American·Boxing

Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is an American former professional boxer who retired with an undefeated 50-0 record.

50-0-0 · 15 world titles

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36
LM

Argentine·Football

Lionel Messi

Argentine footballer widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, known for his dribbling, vision, and goal-scoring ability.

569 career goals · 112 international goals

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37
MS

American·Alpine Skiing

Mikaela Shiffrin

American alpine ski racer who holds the all-time record for World Cup race wins, male or female.

3 Olympic golds · 8 world titles

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38
AH

Norwegian·Football

Ada Hegerberg

Norwegian striker and first-ever women's Ballon d'Or winner, widely regarded as one of the greatest female footballers of all time with prol

229 career goals · 44 international goals

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39
HH

American·Boxing

Holly Holm

Holly Holm is an American boxer, mixed martial artist, and multiple-time world champion who held titles in three boxing weight divisions bef

34-4-3 · 14 world titles

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40
RD

Brazilian·Football

Romário de Souza

Brazil's 1994 World Cup winner and scorer of over 1,000 career goals — a natural finisher of almost supernatural efficiency.

524 career goals · 55 international goals

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41
CD

American·Swimming

Caeleb Dressel

American sprint standout who won 7 golds at Tokyo 2020 alone and holds the 100m butterfly world record.

8 Olympic golds · 9 Olympic medals

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42
ND

Hungarian·Canoeing

Natasa Dusev-Janics

Serbian-born Hungarian sprint kayaker who won three Olympic gold medals and formed one of women's canoeing's most dominant partnerships with

3x Olympic Gold Medalist (2004x2, 2008)

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43
TP

Slovenian·Cycling

Tadej Pogačar

Slovenian road cyclist regarded as one of the greatest of his era, with four Tour de France titles and 13 Monument wins.

4× Tour de France · 5 grand tour wins

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44
JF

Australian·Canoeing

Jessica Fox

French-born Australian slalom paddler and the most decorated athlete in Olympic canoe slalom history, who became the first paddler ever to h

3x Olympic Gold Medalist (2020, 2024x2)

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45
BH

French·Cycling

Bernard Hinault

A dominant all-rounder of the late 1970s-1980s who won 147 professional races including 10 Grand Tours and the 1980 World Championship.

5× Tour de France · 10 grand tour wins

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46
KJ

American·Basketball

K.C. Jones

American basketball player and coach who won 8 NBA Championships as a player with the Boston Celtics and 2 more as head coach, plus Olympic

11× champion · 7.4 ppg career

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47
IS

Swedish·Alpine Skiing

Ingemar Stenmark

Swedish 'slalom king' widely regarded as the greatest technical skier in men's alpine history.

2 Olympic golds · 5 world titles

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48
IT

Australian·Swimming

Ian Thorpe

Australian freestyler who won 5 Olympic golds and set 22 world records, becoming the youngest male world champion at age 15.

5 Olympic golds · 9 Olympic medals

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49
GF

Swedish·Canoeing

Gert Fredriksson

Swedish sprint kayaker regarded as the most successful male canoeist in Olympic history, winning six gold medals across four Games spanning

6x Olympic Gold Medalist (1948x2, 1952, 1956x2, 1960)

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50
SJ

American·Basketball

Sam Jones

American basketball shooting guard who won 10 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and was known for his clutch shooting and bank shot

10× champion · 17.7 ppg career

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