Ma Long became the first table tennis athlete to win five Olympic gold medals.
The Chinese player reached this milestone at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in 2021. He won men’s team gold in Tokyo after previously taking men’s singles gold at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, plus team gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Ma Long is often called the “Dragon” because of his dominant career and name. His Olympic total also includes a bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Games. His five golds came across singles and team events, not five singles titles.
The achievement is especially notable because Olympic table tennis offers relatively few medals compared with the number of events contested in a player’s career. China has dominated the sport since its Olympic debut, but Ma Long’s combination of longevity and success remains exceptional.