Top 5 Greatest Olympians of All Time (Ranked)

One Olympian won more gold medals than the next two athletes on this list combined. Another held the all-time record for 48 years. We rank the five most decorated Olympians in 130 years of the Games. We rank the 5 greatest Olympians ever, judged on total medals, gold medals, dominance, and longevity across multiple Games: #5 — Ole Einar Bjørndalen — 13 medals (8 gold) in biathlon across 6 Winter Games (1994-2014). King of Biathlon. #4 — Nikolai Andrianov — 15 medals (7 gold) in gymnastics across just 3 Games. Most decorated male gymnast ever. #3 — Marit Bjørgen — 15 medals (8 gold) in cross-country skiing. The most decorated Winter Olympian in history. #2 — Larisa Latynina — 18 medals (9 gold) in gymnastics across 3 Games. Held the all-time record for 48 years. Still the most decorated female Olympian ever. #1 — Michael Phelps — 28 medals (23 gold) in swimming across 5 Games. Both records that may never fall. 8 golds in Beijing alone. If Phelps were a country, his 23 golds would rank 35th on the all-time Olympic gold medal table. Who impressed you most? Subscribe for more sports rankings. #Olympics #MichaelPhelps #LarisaLatynina #Olympians #Sports Credits All YouTube clips: CC BY 3.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Clips trimmed/edited for length. YouTube clips 5. Ole Einar Bjørndalen "Ole Einar Björndalen 1.Platz 20 km Einzel Östersund 2015" — faker777maker    • Ole Einar Björndalen  1.Platz 20 km Einzel...   Used: 0m30s–1m00s "The legendary career of Ole Einar Bjørndalen 🇳🇴🎿" — Olympics    • The legendary career of Ole Einar Bjørndal...   Used: 1m00s–1m30s "Ole Einar Bjørndalen at the Olympic Games🇳🇴 | Athlete Highlights" — Olympics    • Ole Einar Bjørndalen at the Olympic Games🇳...   Used: 0m30s–1m00s 4. Nikolai Andrianov "1973 Champions All Nikolai Andrianov FX" — gymnasticsstuff    • 1973 Champions All   Nikolai Andrianov FX   Used: 0m00s–0m30s "Nikolay Andrianov - PH (Olympic games 1976)" — igorgymn2    • Nikolay Andrianov - PH (Olympic games 1976)   Used: 0m00s–0m30s "The most decorated male gymnast of all time? Nikolai Andrianov!" — Olympics Gymnastics    • The most decorated male gymnast of all tim...   Used: 0m00s–0m30s 3. Marit Bjørgen "Ski NM Voss 2012 - Marit Bjørgen" — S. Witts    • Ski NM Voss 2012 - Marit Bjørgen   Used: 0m00s–0m30s "Most Successful Winter Athlete Of All Time! ⛷️ | Marit Bjørgen 🇳🇴 | Athlete Highlights" — Olympics    • Most Successful Winter Athlete Of All Time...   Used: 0m00s–0m30s 2. Larisa Latynina "The Story of Larissa Latynina, the Most Successful Olympic Gymnast | The Olympics On The Record" — Olympics    • The Story of Larissa Latynina, the Most Su...   Used: 0m00s–0m30s "✘ TOKYO 1964 Larissa Latynina Uneven bars Individual (Amateur Footage)" — TF Filmarchiv    • ✘ TOKYO 1964 Larissa Latynina Uneven bars ...   Used: 0m00s–0m30s 1. Michael Phelps "Michael Phelps: The Greatest Olympian | The Greatest American Olympian" — Econoclock    • Michael Phelps: The Greatest Olympian | Th...   Used: 0m00s–0m30s "Michael Phelps Wins 20th GOLD Swimming Medal At Rio Olympics 2016" — Olympic 2016    • Michael Phelps Wins 20th GOLD Swimming Med...   Used: 0m00s–0m30s "Michael Phelps Wins Mens 200m Individual Medley Gold" — qaq qkohjf    • Michael Phelps Wins Mens 200m Individual M...   Used: 0m00s–0m30s