We all know that competing in a sport can get you far in life, right? You can get scholarships for college, and you can make a good living off of being talented in sports. There are some people who are the best of the best, and they make sure you know it. Here’s the top five Olympic gold medalist athletes! Going from the best to the worst, I will tell you about a few well known athletes with Olympic gold medals to brag about!

1. Michael Phelps

   Michael Phelps is a well known athlete for his role as a competitive swimmer. Why is he so well-known, you may ask? Michael Phelps in total has 28 Olympic medals! He has 23 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 2 bronze. Michael Phelps has been long named the greatest butterfly swimmer for his 200 fly. He represents the United States and competes in the summer Olympic games. He’s been in the Olympics for twelve years, starting in the year 2004 and ending in 2016.

2. Larisa Latynina

        Larisa Latynina, an Olympic gymnast and having 18 total Olympic medals. Larisa Latynina has 9 gold medals, 5 silver, and 4 bronze. She represented the Soviet Union in the summer Olympic games. Just at the age of 21, she started her Olympic career in 1956. She had eight strong years of being one of the best athletes, before she quit in 1964. She won 14 individual Olympic medals, and 4 team ones.

3. Nikolai Andrianov

     Nikolai Andrianov, a male gymnast, has a total of fifteen Olympic medals. He, like Larisa Latynina, was from the Soviet Union. He has seven gold medals, 5 silver, and 3 bronze. Nikolai competed in the summer Olympic games, his career starting in 1972. He was in the Olympics for twelve years, before ending his career in 1980. Nikolai held the record for the most Olympic medals for men until Michael Phelps surpassed him in 2008.

4. Boris Shakhlin

       Boris Shakhlin, a male gymnast for the Soviet Union has thirteen Olympic medals. He has seven gold, four silver and two bronze. Boris Shakhlin competed in the summer games starting in 1956. Like Larisa Latynina, Boris completed in the Olympics for eight years, before finishing in 1964. Boris Shakhlin holds the record for the fourth-most Olympic medals won at a single Olympic Games but sadly, he died on May 30th, 2008.

5. Edoardo Mangiarotti

      Edoardo Mangiarotti was an Italian fencer. “He won a total of 19 Olympic titles and World championships, more than any other fencer in the history of the sport” Wikipedia. His Olympic medals include one individual gold, five team golds, five silver, and two bronze medals from 1936 to 1960 in the summer Olympic games. Edoardo Mangiarotti died on May 25th, 2012. 

     Ask yourself this question: Did you know about any of these Olympic athletes? If you didn’t before, now you know about some of the best athletes in the world. I hope you learned something about the top gold Olympic medalists in the world and maybe you could do something great too!