The most decorated Olympian of all time is American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won a total of 28 Olympic medals across four Olympic Games from 2004 to 2016, including 23 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals, a record that far exceeds any other athlete in history. Phelps debuted at age 15 at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and then dominated in Athens 2004 with 6 golds and 2 bronzes, made history in Beijing 2008 with 8 gold medals in a single Games breaking Mark Spitz's record of 7, added 4 golds and 2 silvers in London 2012, and finished his career in Rio 2016 with 5 golds and 1 silver at age 31. His 23 gold medals alone are more than the total medal count of most countries and more than double the next highest gold medalist, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina who has 9 golds. For comparison, the second most decorated Olympian overall is also Larisa Latynina with 18 total medals, followed by Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjorgen with 15 medals, and Japanese gymnast Takashi Ono with 13. Phelps's longevity, versatility across butterfly, freestyle, and individual medley events, and dominance over 16 years make his record unlikely to be broken for decades.
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