Which athlete won five gold medals at a single Winter Olympics?

Eric Heiden won five gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, taking every men’s speed-skating event at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid, United States. He won the 500 metres, 1,000 metres, 1,500 metres, 5,000 metres, and 10,000 metres.

Heiden’s achievement was extraordinary because it covered both sprint and long-distance races. He set four Olympic records and one world record during the competition, making him the dominant athlete of the Games. He also became the first speed skater to win all five Olympic speed-skating events at one edition.

The performance made Heiden a sporting legend, but his career soon changed direction. He retired from competitive skating after the 1980 Olympics, later became a physician, and also competed successfully in cycling. His medical career included work in sports medicine and orthopaedics.

Bjørn Dæhlie and Ole Einar Bjørndalen were highly successful Winter Olympians, but they did not win five individual gold medals at one Games. Michael Phelps is associated with Olympic records in swimming, a Summer Olympic sport. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo later won six golds at the 2026 Winter Olympics, but Heiden remains famous for his five individual golds in 1980.