Fansided

30 Olympic athletes who dominated their events

By Patrick Morgan

Jul 9, 2015; Montreal, CAN; A general view as fireworks illuminate the olympic rings on top the Canada Olympic House during the Excellence Day. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 9, 2015; Montreal, CAN; A general view as fireworks illuminate the olympic rings on top the Canada Olympic House during the Excellence Day. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /
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FILES – Picture taken 28 August 2004 shows German canoeist Birgit Fischer waving after finishing second with teammate Carolin Leonhardt (not in picture) in the Women’s K2 500m final for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games at the Schinias Rowing and Canoeing Centre, outside Athens. The eight-times Olympic champion canoeist Fischer announced on February 5, 2008 she will not be coming out of retirement for a third time to compete in August’s Beijing Olympic Games. AFP PHOTO/MLADEN ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images)
FILES – Picture taken 28 August 2004 shows German canoeist Birgit Fischer waving after finishing second with teammate Carolin Leonhardt (not in picture) in the Women’s K2 500m final for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games at the Schinias Rowing and Canoeing Centre, outside Athens. The eight-times Olympic champion canoeist Fischer announced on February 5, 2008 she will not be coming out of retirement for a third time to compete in August’s Beijing Olympic Games. AFP PHOTO/MLADEN ANTONOV (Photo credit should read MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images) /

6. Birgit Fischer

As good as Gert Fredriksson was in a canoe, he’s still not the greatest canoeist of all time. That honor belongs to Birgit Fischer of Germany, winner of 12 Olympic medals (eight gold and four silver).

Interestingly enough, Fischer actually has won Olympic hardware representing two different nations. She competed for East Germany and won gold at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games before winning an additional two golds and one silver at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. After German reunification in 1990, Fischer earned an additional eight medals for the newly-christened united country (five gold, three silver).

In addition to the Moscow and Seoul Games, Fisher also competed at four different Olympic Games: 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney, and 2004 Athens. She twice announced her retirement before changing her mind and returning once again to add to her growing inventory of championship medals.

Fischer is another athlete, like several others listed earlier, with a wide range of years between her first Olympic win and her last. The 1980 Moscow gold medal came when she was just 18 years old, and her final gold medal came at 42 in the 2004 Athens Games. She is one of just two athletes to win eight gold medals over the course of six different Olympic Games.

Next: 5. Ole Einar Bjørndalen

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