30 Olympic athletes who dominated their events

13. Boris Shakhlin

Continuing the pattern of Soviet excellence in gymnastics, Boris Shakhlin won his first World Championship as a 20-year-old in the team competition. Two years later, he made his Olympic debut at the 1956 Summer Games in Melbourne, Australia. It was there that Shakhlin received his first taste of gold and glory, taking home top honors in the team competition and pommel horse events.

Driven by a workmanlike desire for perfection, the Siberian-born gymnast polished his routines until he could practically do them in his sleep. When the following Olympic Games arrived in Rome during the summer of 1960, Shakhlin was ready. He medalled an eye-popping seven times over the course of that competition (four gold, two silver, one bronze), and left Italy the all-around champion of the Summer Games.

Shakhlin participated in his final Olympic Games four years later in Tokyo. While not quite as successful as he had been in Rome, he still managed to add four more medals to his collection (one gold, two silver, one bronze). His Soviet squad finished as the runner-up in the team competition for the second Olympics in a row, losing once again to a Japanese group led by No. 16 on this list: Takashi Ono.

Next: 12. Abby Wambach