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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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TOKYO, JAPAN – OCTOBER 21: (CHINA OUT, SOUTH KOREA OUT) Larysa Latynina of Soviet Union competes in the Floor of the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Individual All-Around during the Tokyo Olympics at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on October 21, 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN – OCTOBER 21: (CHINA OUT, SOUTH KOREA OUT) Larysa Latynina of Soviet Union competes in the Floor of the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Individual All-Around during the Tokyo Olympics at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on October 21, 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images) /

2. Larisa Latynina

The greatest gymnast of all time, Larisa Latynina owns an incredible 18 Olympic medals, which puts her firmly at No. 2 on the list of athletes with multiple Olympic medals (she has five more than Edoardo Mangiarotti at No. 3). Half of all her medals were gold, which also slots her at No. 2 all-time on the list of multiple gold medal winners (tied with Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz, and Paavo Nurmi).

As stated before, the Soviet Union/Russia has a long, storied tradition of dominance in the gymnastic disciplines at the Summer Olympics. A lot of that reputation can be attributed to Larisa Latynina and her astounding string of success between the 1956 Melbourne and 1964 Tokyo Games.

She won six Olympic medals at her first Olympics in Australia (four gold, one silver, one bronze), then followed up this dynamic performance with another six medals at the 1960 Rome Summer Games (three gold, two silver, one bronze). Like clockwork, the ruthlessly-efficient Latynina garnered another batch of six medals at her final Olympics in Japan (two gold, two silver, two bronze). That kind of sustained excellence was unprecedented in competitive gymnastics, and there might never be another gymnast who can match what Latynina accomplished over her legendary career.

Next: 1. Michael Phelps

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