Who Has Won the Most Olympic Gold Medals
The Olympics are an international sporting event that allow the top athletes in the world a chance to compete against one another on the world stage. There is both a summer and winter Olympics which cater for different sports. They are currently held every two years alternating between the summer and winter games. The most recent Summer Olympics were held in London, England in 2012. The last winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, Canada in 2010. The Olympics offers the host country a chance to showcase itself to the world. Countries work hard to try and gain the title of the best Olympic Games ever. The athletes compete against each other in the hopes of winning an Olympic gold medal and bringing honor to their home country. Winning a gold medal at the Olympics demonstrates that they are the best in the world at a particular sport/event.
Who Has The Most Olympic Gold Medals?
The person who has currently won the most Olympic gold medals is Michael Phelps of the United States of America. He has won an amazing 14 gold medals in the sport of swimming at the summer Olympics of 2004 and 2008. He won six gold in Athens in 2004 and then a further eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In total Michael Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals, 14 gold and 2 bronze. Michael Phelps also holds the records for the most gold medals won at a single Olympic games. Interestingly, only 5 of his gold medals have been won during individual events.
UPDATE 2: Michael Phelps added another gold medal to his tally on July 31, 2012 at the London Olympics bringing his total to 15. He has also added 2 silver medals to his tally in London so far, which means he has won a record 19 Olympic medals!
UPDATE 2: Another Olympic gold medal for Phelps on August 2, which makes it 16 gold and 20 medals in total!
UPDATE 3: Phelps won the 100 m butterfly final on August 3 for his 17th gold medal! He has one swim remaining in London, a team swim, with a good prospect of winning another gold.
UPDATE 4: Fittingly, Phelps finished his Olympic career with a final gold medal in his last event. If you have lost track his total now stands at 18 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze for a total of 22 Olympic medals!
The person who has won the most Olympic gold medals in the winter games is Bjørn Dæhlie from Norway. He has won a total of 8 gold medals in the sport of cross-country skiing. He has won a total of 29 medals at the Olympics and world championships between 1991 and 1999, making him the world’s most successful cross-country skier.
The woman who has won the most Olympic gold medals is Larissa Latynina from the former Soviet Union. Larissa won a total of 9 gold medals and is the only female athlete to hold that many medals. In her career as a gymnast she won a total of 18 Olympic medals, 9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze.
Larissa Latynina currently holds the record for winning the most individual Olympic medals, she won 14!
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