Who has the most Olympic medals? These countries and athletes are the most decorated

There are around 2,900 athletes competing in 116 events at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, each hoping to bring home a medal.

Important gold, silver and bronze medals will be taken home by a small fraction of the competitors. The distribution of awards from past Olympics provides information on which countries and athletes are likely to win this year.

during the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, Norway took home the most medals: 37, including 16 gold. After the Norwegians came the ROC – the banner where Russian athletes compete – followed by Germany, Canada and the United States.

The US came out on top The latest Summer Games in Paris in 2024, he took home 126 medals, including 40 golds. China, Britain and France followed.

But which countries have taken home the most medals, and which athletes have won the most in Olympic history?

Which countries have the most Olympic medals?

Although the International Olympic Committee does not compile standards, the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage keeps track of the number of medals. It puts the US upwith a total of 3,103 medals.

The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, described by the Olympics as “the leading international competitor in the promotion and dissemination of Olympism in the fields of culture, heritage and heritage-based education,” counts one medal for each event, regardless of how many athletes may compete in the winning team. The organization does not count medals won in art competitions or medals received during exhibitions.

The US is followed in the overall medal tally by the Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991, and its former republics now compete as independent nations. The Soviet Union received 1,204 medals. Germany came third with 1,091 medals.

Germany’s exact medal count is disputed because Germany has not always competed in the Olympics as a unified country, which can lead to medal confusion. At one time, the Federal Republic of Germany party represented West Germany while the German Democratic Republic party represented East Germany.

Although the US leads the way in total medals, it does not hold the top spot when it comes to Winter Olympics medals. Norway dominates there, with 404 medals won during the Winter Games.

The US, with 330, and Germany, with 286, are next in the Winter Olympics rankings.

Which countries have the most Olympic gold medals?

The US has the most gold medals overall: 1,220 total, according to the Olympic Foundation. In second place, the Soviet Union collected 473 gold medals. Germany is in third place, 355 gold medals.

Great Britain, France, Italy, China, Sweden and Norway have all won more than 200 gold medals each, according to the Olympic Foundation.

The special rankings for the Winter Olympics see Norway leading the way, with 148 gold medals, followed by the US and Germany, with 114 and 113 gold medals respectively.

Which athletes have the most Olympic medals overall?

American swimmer Michael Phelps he is a multi-medal Olympic athlete. Phelps, who made his Olympic Games debut in Sydney in 2000, has 23 gold, three silver and two bronze medals, won in five games.

Former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina she is the most successful female Olympian, with 18 Olympic medals: nine gold, five silver and four bronze.

Norwegian skier Marit Bjørgen became the most decorated winter Olympian in 2018, with 15 medals, including eight golds.

Ole Einar Bjørndalen, also a Norwegian skier, holds the most medals for a male winter Olympian, with 14 medals.

Speed ​​skater Apolo Anton Ohno, who has won eight medals in three Winter Olympics, holds the top spot among US Winter Olympians.

Which athletes have the most Olympic gold medals?

Phelps is not the only athlete with a highly decorated Olympian; he is also the most Olympic gold medalist, winning 23 gold medals in five sports. And Latynina, in addition to being the winningest female Olympian, holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals. He competed in three games, starting in 1956 in Melbourne.

Norwegian skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo holds the record for most gold medals at the Winter Olympics after winning the 9th gold of his career in the Milan-Cortina games. He has won 11 medals in total.

Skiers Bjørgen and Bjørndalen, with eight gold medals each, are tied with Bjørn Dæhlie, another Norwegian skier, for second in the gold medal count.