Who is the most decorated Olympian of all time?

Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time. Across four Olympic Games, the American swimmer won 28 medals, including a record 23 gold medals.

Phelps first became a major Olympic figure at the 2004 Athens Games, where he won six gold and two bronze medals. He reached an even greater height at Beijing 2008, winning eight gold medals in a single Olympics. That performance surpassed Mark Spitz’s previous record of seven golds at one Games.

His medal total continued to grow at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Phelps’s final Olympic medal came in the 4×100-metre medley relay in Rio, bringing his career total to 28. He also holds records for Olympic gold medals in individual events and total individual Olympic medals.

Larisa Latynina is a common alternative answer because the Soviet gymnast once held the overall record, with 18 Olympic medals. Phelps surpassed her total in 2012. Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis are also among the most successful Olympians, but neither matches Phelps’s overall medal count.