US swimmer Michael Phelps: Summer Olympics' 'king of medals'

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) — US swimmer Michael Phelps is often called the "king of medals" in the Summer Olympics.

Phelps, who competed in five Olympics starting with the 2000 Sydney Games, is the most decorated athlete in Summer Olympic history, with 23 gold, three silver, and two bronze medals.

The US athlete won six gold and two bronze medals in Athens 2004, eight gold medals in Beijing 2008, four gold and two silver medals in London 2012, and five gold and one silver medals in Rio 2016. He holds the record for the most gold medals in Summer Olympic history.

- USSR gymnast Larisa Latynina ranks second behind Phelps

Larisa Latynina, a female gymnast from the USSR, is second behind Phelps with a total of 18 medals — nine gold, five silver, and four bronze — across three Olympics between 1956 and 1964.

Latynina won 14 of her 18 medals as an individual and four as a member of the Soviet team.

Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi, with nine gold and three silver medals, and US swimmer Mark Spitz, with nine gold, a silver, and a bronze, also rank among the most decorated Olympic athletes.

- Schmidt and Gerevich win gold medals in 6 different Olympics

German canoeist Birgit Fischer Schmidt has won a total of eight gold medals in six different Olympics.

Schmidt won her first Olympic medal at age 18 in Moscow 1980 but could not compete in Los Angeles 1984 because East Germany did not participate.

She then earned two gold and a silver medal in Seoul 1988, a gold and a silver in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, two gold medals in Sydney 2000, and a gold and a silver in Athens 2004.

Hungarian fencer Aladar Gerevich is another athlete who has won gold medals in six different Olympics.

Nicknamed "the greatest Olympic swordsman," Gerevich competed in six Olympics over 28 years between 1932 and 1960.

He won one gold medal in Los Angeles 1932, a gold and a bronze in Berlin 1936, two gold medals in London 1948, a gold, a silver, and a bronze in Helsinki 1952, and a gold medal each in Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960.

Had Tokyo 1940 and London 1944 not been canceled due to World War II, Gerevich could have participated in eight different Olympics.

British rower Steven Redgrave also won gold medals in five consecutive Olympics from 1984 to 2000.

- The most successful athletes in the Summer Olympics

- Gold medal wins:

23: Michael Phelps (US-Swimming)

9: Larissa Latynina (USSR-Gymnastics), Paavo Nurmi (Finland-Track & Field), Mark Spitz (US-Swimming), Carl Lewis (US-Track & Field)

8: Birgit Fischer Schmidt (Germany-Canoe), Savao Kato (Japan-Gymnastics), Jenny Thompson (US-Swimming), Matthew Biondi (US-Swimming), Ray C. Ewry (US-Track & Field), Usain Bolt (Jamaica-Track & Field)

- Total medal wins:

28: Michael Phelps (US-Swimming)

18: Larissa Latynina (USSR-Gymnastics)

15: Nikolai Andrianov (USSR-Gymnastics)

13: Boris Shakhlin (USSR-Gymnastics), Eduardo Mangiarotti (Italy-Fencing), Takashi Ono (Japan-Gymnastics)

12: Savao Kato (Japan-Gymnastics), Paavo Nurmi (Finland-Athletics), Alexei Nemov (Russia-Gymnastics), Birgit Fischer Schmidt (Germany-Canoe), Jenny Thompson (US-Swimming), Dara Torres (US-Swimming), Ryan Lochte (US-Swimming), Natalie Coughlin (US-Swimming)