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Medal Count: Which summer Olympians have the most medals of all time?

By Baigen Seawell

Italian Edoardo Mangiarotti (L) took silver and his compatriot Manlio Di Rosa (R) got bronze. (Photo credit: AFP via Getty Images)
Italian Edoardo Mangiarotti (L) took silver and his compatriot Manlio Di Rosa (R) got bronze. (Photo credit: AFP via Getty Images) /
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Photo credit should read MAXIM MARMUR/AFP via Getty Images
Photo credit should read MAXIM MARMUR/AFP via Getty Images /

9. Birgit Fischer – East Germany

Medal Count: 12 (8 gold, 4 silver)

Sport: Canoeing

Games attended: 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004

Fischer came out hunting for gold ever since she had the chance to kayak at the Olympic level. She was just 20 when she won the gold in the K1 500M, and she hadn’t let up since.

Though her home country would not make an appearance in the 1984 games due to the Boycott of Eastern Germany, she didn’t miss out on her chance to go for another chance in the 1988 Olympics hosted in Seoul, South Korea.

By this time she had a grand total of three gold medals — one from Moscow and two from Seoul. However, she would take home her first silver, fall short of gold in the K1 500M race.

This wouldn’t deter her though. Upon unification of East and West Germany, Fischer went on to win five more gold medals spanning from 1992 to 2004, and three silver spanning that same time frame. By the 2004 Olympics she was 42, according to her Olympic Bio.

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