Who has the most Olympic medals of all time? These countries and athletes are the most decorated ever

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

The prized gold, silver and bronze medals will go home with only a small portion of the competitors. The distribution of awards at past Olympics provides some insight into which countries and athletes are the most likely to dominate 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 under which Russian athletes compete — followed by Germany, Canada and the United States. 

The U.S. came out on top at the most recent Summer Games in Paris in 2024, taking home 126 medals, including 40 gold. It was followed by China, Britain and France. 

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

Which countries have the most Olympic medals?

While the International Olympic Committee does not compile rankings, the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage does keep a medal tally. It puts the U.S. at the top, with 3,103 total medals.

The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, which is described by the Olympics as the “leading international exponent in promoting and disseminating Olympism in the fields of culture, heritage and values-based education,” counts one medal per event, regardless of how many athletes may compete in a winning team. The organization does not count medals won in the arts competitions or medals won during demonstration events. 

The U.S. is followed in the overall medal count by the Soviet Union, which was disbanded in 1991, with its former republics now competing as independent countries. The Soviet Union earned 1,204 medals. Germany comes in third with 1,091 medals.

Germany’s exact medal count is a point of contention because Germany has not always competed in each Olympics as a unified country, which can lead to confusing medal counts. At one point, the Federal Republic of Germany team represented West Germany while the German Democratic Republic team represented East Germany.

While the U.S. leads in the overall medal count, it does not hold the top spot when it comes to Winter Olympics medals. Norway dominates there, with 404 medals earned during the Winter Games.

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

Which countries have the most Olympic gold medals?

The U.S. has the most gold medals overall: a total of 1,220, according to the Olympic Foundation. In second place, the Soviet Union racked up 473 gold medals. Germany is third, with 355 gold medals. 

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

The Winter Olympics specific rankings see Norway on top, with 148 gold medals, followed by the U.S. and Germany, with 114 and 113 gold medals, respectively.

Which athletes have the most Olympic medals overall?

American swimmer Michael Phelps is handily the Olympic athlete with the most medals. Phelps, who first appeared in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, has 23 gold medals, three silver and two bronze, won across five games.

Former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina 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 gold.

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

Speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, who has earned eight medals across three Winter Olympics, holds the top spot for U.S. winter Olympians.

Which athletes have the most Olympic gold medals?

Phelps is not only the athlete with the most decorated Olympian; he’s also the athlete with the most Olympic golds, earning 23 gold medals across five games. And Latynina, in addition to being the winningest female Olympian overall, also holds the record for most golds by a female athlete at the Olympics. She competed in three games, starting in 1956 in Melbourne.

Norwegian skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo holds the record for the most Winter Olympic gold medals after winning the 9th gold of his career at the Milan-Cortina Games. He’s won 11 medals overall.

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