30 Olympic athletes who dominated their events

17. Carl Osburn

Carl Osburn was a turn-of-the-century sharpshooter with a long and detailed background as a U.S. Navy officer. Besides attaining the rank of Captain and being promoted to Director of Naval Reserves, he also honed his abilities as a marksman to the point where the Navy began detailing him in various locations specifically so he could train for and then participate in international sports shooting competitions.

From 1912 to 1924, Osburn was the leading name in his sport, obliterating all challengers in three different Olympic Games. Similar to Gerevich missing opportunities to compete in 1940 and 1944 due to World War II, Osburn also might have accumulated more hardware had the 1916 Berlin Games not been cancelled due to World War I.

As it stands, he still did alright for himself: five gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronze medals. Altogether, his 11 medals made him the winningest U.S. male Olympian for nearly half a century until another name on this list – swimmer Mark Spitz – tied his record in 1972.

A master with a rifle in his hand, Osburn was posthumously inducted into the USA Shooting Hall of Fame and is listed there as one of the nine greatest marksmen America has ever seen.

Next: 16. Takashi Ono