Greatest Olympians of All Time
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt won eight Olympic gold medals. Anja Niedringhaus / AP Photo
Countless athletes from around the globe have left their mark on the Summer and Winter Olympics since the first modern games in Athens in 1896.
Some performances were a brilliant moment of greatness that personified the Olympic motto of “Swifter, Higher, Stronger.” Others displayed astounding longevity that resulted in epic medal hauls spanning multiple Olympiads. The most dominating Olympic champions become legends forever.
These are the greatest Olympians of all time.
60. Takashi Ono
Country: Japan
Sport: Gymnastics
Events: Team, all-around, horizontal bar, pommel horse, vault, parallel bars, rings
Years: 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964
Medals: 13
Key stats: Bronze medal in vault in 1952. Gold in horizontal bar, silver in all-around, pommel horse and team and bronze in parallel bars in 1956. Gold in team and vault, silver in all-around and bronze in parallel bars and rings in 1960. Gold in team in 1964.
Bottom Line: Takashi Ono
Takashi Ono’s 13 medals ties him with Soviet great Boris Shakhlin for second all-time among male gymnasts.
Ono is the most decorated Japanese Olympian in history, edging fellow gymnast Sawao Kato, who finished his career with 12 medals.
In 1960, Ono came away with six medals in the eight gymnastics events contested at the Rome Games.
59. Felix Savon
Country: Cuba
Sport: Boxing
Event: Heavyweight
Years: 1992, 1996, 2000
Medals: 3
Key stats: Gold medals in 1992, 1996 and 2000.
Bottom Line: Felix Savon
Felix Savon matched his countryman, Teofilo Stevenson, with three heavyweight gold medals in consecutive Olympics.
And just as Stevenson missed out on a possible fourth gold because of Cuba’s boycott of the 1984 Olympics, the country’s boycott in 1988 also cost Savon a chance for an additional gold.
Passing on opportunities to defect to the United States and make millions as a professional, Savon finished his amateur career with a 362-21 record.