The 11 Greatest Male Olympic Athletes of All-Time
Throughout the history of the Olympics, many male athletes have competed for glory. But who are the greatest male Olympians ever?
Keep reading to find out…
Showjumping icon Ian Millar – the athlete with the most Olympic appearances ever!
The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896 in Athens.
Since then, athletes from around the globe, competing in countless sporting disciplines, have pushed the boundaries of speed and skill far beyond what many people thought was possible.
We’ve looked at the 11 greatest female Olympians of all-time – but what about their male counterparts?
Narrowing down the top 11 male Olympians was no easy feat – but we’ve done it!
Check out our list of legendary Olympians who broke records and achieved big on a global scale.
1. Michael Phelps: Swimming (USA)
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He’s won 28 Olympic medals
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Phelps has 23 gold medals to his name
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He’s set eight Olympic swimming records
Michael Phelps was unstoppable in the pool.
During his career, he set 39 world swimming records. Eight were Olympic records, seven of which Phelps achieved in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning gold in all his events.
Given his excellent Games that year, it’s no surprise that ‘Sports Illustrated’ named Phelps “Sportsman of the Year” in 2008 – and he’s considered one of the most successful athletes of all-time.
The most highly decorated Olympian retired from the pool six years ago, but he’s still involved in various sports, such as golf and pickleball.
2. Jesse Owens: Track and Field (USA)
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He won four Olympic gold medals in 1936
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Owens broke three world records and tied one within half an hour in 1935
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He’s the first American to earn four Olympic gold medals in track and field events
The 1936 Olympic Games were hosted in Berlin, where Jesse Owens dashed Hitler’s hopes of showcasing the dominance of the Aryan race.
He was the first American to win four gold medals in one Olympic championship. It would take 48 years before Carl Lewis would equal this record.
Though he was an Olympic hero, he returned home to Jim Crow laws in the USA that left him with few options for earning a living besides running stunt races against cars, motorcycles, trains, dogs and even a racehorse.
Despite this, he’s remembered as one of the greatest sprinting legends in history.
3. Ian Millar: Show Jumping (Canada)
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He has competed in 10 Olympic Games
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He won a silver medal at Beijing in 2008
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He’s won two Show Jumping World Cups
Ian Millar boasts the most Olympic appearances by any competitor for any sport.
He is a show-jumping champion of note, making his first Olympic appearance in 1972 and entering his last at age 65 in 2012 after winning his only Olympic silver medal at the previous Games.
Millar won the Canadian Show Jumping Championships 12 times, with 40+ Grand Prix titles. He’s collected more than $3.5 million in prize money at the Spruce Meadows venue in Calgary.
Love the equestrian world? Read more on our horse racing blog
4. Usain Bolt: Track and Field (Jamaica)
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He won three gold medals in a single Olympic games in 2008
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Bolt has set three records in all of these events
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He holds 19 Guinness World Records
Jamaican-born Usain Bolt, also known as “Lightning Bolt” because of his speed, became the first athlete to triumph in the 100m and 200m sprints in three Olympic Games in a row, from 2008 to 2016.
Despite taking gold in the 4 x 100m relay in all three Olympic Games, he lost his 2008 medal because one of his teammates failed a drug test.
Bolt is also a Manchester United football fan. After retiring from track and field athletics, he played several friendly games for various football clubs, eventually starting to train with Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.
After a short while, he ended his football career, saying his days of professional sport were over.
5. Carl Lewis: Track and Field (USA)
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He won nine Olympic gold medals
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To this day, Lewis holds the record for the indoor long jump
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He won gold medals in the same event for four straight Olympiads
Carl Lewis dominated in sprinting and long jump during the 80s and 90s. During his career, he set world records in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m relays and also in the long jump.
Lewis still holds the record for the indoor long jump – one he set in 1984. This makes him one of the greatest long jump icons in history.
With nine Olympic gold medals to his name, Carl Lewis was a force to be reckoned with in the sprints, long jump and relays. His longevity and consistency in the sport make him one of the Olympic greats.
6. Takashi Ono: Gymnastics (Japan)
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He’s won 13 Olympic medals
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Ono participated in four consecutive Olympics from 1952 to 1964
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He took the Olympic Oath at the 1964 Games
Takashi Ono’s 13 medals include four bronze, four silver and five gold in the artistic gymnastics discipline. He competed in four Olympic games in 1952, 1956, 1960 and 1964.
The Japanese gymnast earned his first gold medal in 1956 on the horizontal bars, but it was in 1960 at the Rome Games that he truly began to shine.
He won six medals in Rome, including gold in the pommel horse, horizontal bars and the team competition. He also took the gold in 1964 in the team competition.
7. Mark Spitz: Swimming (USA)
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He won 11 Olympic medals in his career
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Spitz took home seven golds in the 1972 Munich Olympics
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He held the record for most successful Olympic athlete for 36 years
Mark Spitz participated in his first Olympic Games in 1968, winning only two gold medals in team events and one silver after declaring his high expectations of collecting six golds.
His Olympic career took a dramatic turn in more ways than one at the Munich Games in 1972.
After winning seven gold medals in various swimming events, Spitz was whisked out of the country by officials who feared for his safety.
However, he held the record for the most gold medals at one Olympics for a whopping 36 years before Michael Phelps broke it in 2008.
8. Emil Zatopek: Long Distance Runner (Czechoslovakia)
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He participated in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics
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He won five Olympic medals
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Zatopek is the only person to win the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon in one Olympic Games
Emil Zatopek, nicknamed the Czech Locomotive, was an unstoppable machine in long-distance events. In 1948, he won gold in the 10,000m race and silver in the 5,000m.
He qualified for the following Games in 1952, outdoing himself by winning the 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon.
He had never attempted a marathon before and only entered at the last minute. Not only did he collect gold medals for all those events, but he also broke records in all three, earning his place among the all-time greats.
9. Paavo Nurmi: Athletics (Finland)
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He won nine gold and three silver medals in three Olympic games
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He won the 5,000m and 10,000m races with only two hours between them
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Nurmi became the first man to win five gold medals in one Olympic competition
Paavo Nurmi was a Finnish middle- and long-distance runner who tore up the track during the 1920s and 1930s, known as the Flying Finn.
In 1920, his first Olympic Games in Antwerp earned him three gold medals for the individual and team cross-country races, and the 10,000m. In addition, he claimed a silver medal for the 5,000m race.
In 1924, he won the 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m and the two cross-country races. He achieved this during a heatwave in Paris when many other competitors were fainting. Respect!
10. Oscar Swahn: Shooting (Sweden)
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He entered three Olympic Games
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Swahn was the oldest male medalist in the Olympics
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He won six Olympic medals
Oscar Swahn participated in three Olympic Games in 1908, 1912 and 1920, competing in a shooting sport called running deer.
At age 72, Swahn won a silver medal at the 1920 Games, making him the oldest man to win an Olympic medal. He was also the oldest man to win a gold medal, which he achieved at age 64.
11. Bonus: John Copley
Between 1912 and 1948, did you know the Olympic Games also included art competitions?
If you consider these valid events, the oldest person to win an Olympic medal was actually a graphic artist called John Copley, who was 73 at the time for his design entitled “Polo Player.”
The Top 11 Male Olympians in History
Although thousands have participated in the Olympic Games – and gone on to win their events – 11 male Olympians have showcased their extraordinary talent and endurance, gaining them a place on our list.
Is there anyone else you think deserves to be on this list? Tell us in the comments.
