Items21The creator’s order
  1. 1Paavo NurmiPaavo NurmiBorn 13 Jun 1897Athletics, Finland. Nurmi won nine Olympic golds between 1920 and 1928. Individually he took the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 metres and cross-country titles, including the 1,500 and 5,000 within about an hour in Paris in 1924. He also won team golds in events that no longer exist, the team…0i
  2. 2Jesse OwensJesse OwensBorn 12 Sept 1913Athletics, United States. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics Owens won three individual golds, in the 100 metres, 200 metres and long jump, and a fourth in the 4x100 metres relay, where the American team set a world record that lasted 20 years. He and Ralph Metcalfe were added to the relay team shortly…0i
  3. 3Fanny Blankers-KoenFanny Blankers-KoenAthletics, Netherlands. At the 1948 London Olympics Blankers-Koen, a 30-year-old mother of two, won the 100 metres, 200 metres and 80 metres hurdles individually, then ran the anchor leg to bring the Dutch team from behind to win the 4x100 metres relay. She held world records in several individual…0i
  4. 4Larisa LatyninaLarisa LatyninaBorn 27 Dec 1934Artistic gymnastics, Soviet Union. Latynina won 18 Olympic medals between 1956 and 1964, nine of them gold. Individually she won the all-around title in 1956 and 1960 and several apparatus golds; in the team event, where each gymnast's scores counted towards the total, she was part of three…0i
  5. 5Mark SpitzMark SpitzBorn 10 Feb 1950Swimming, United States. At the 1972 Munich Olympics Spitz won seven golds, all in world-record time: four individual events in freestyle and butterfly, and three relays. Four years earlier in Mexico City his two golds had both come in relays, with only silver and bronze in his individual races, so…0i
  6. 6Seve BallesterosSeve BallesterosBorn 9 Apr 1957Golf, Spain. Ballesteros won five majors on his own, three Open Championships and two Masters. In the Ryder Cup, played as a team between Europe and the United States, he was at the centre of Europe's revival from the 1980s, and his foursomes and fourballs partnership with José María Olazábal lost…0i
  7. 7Carl LewisCarl LewisAthletics, United States. Lewis won nine Olympic golds, seven of them individual, including the 100 metres twice and the long jump four times in a row from 1984 to 1996. He also anchored American 4x100 metres relay teams to Olympic gold in 1984 and 1992, both times in world-record time, so his…0i
  8. 8Ole Einar BjørndalenOle Einar BjørndalenBiathlon, Norway. Bjørndalen won eight Olympic golds and a record number of world titles between 1998 and 2014. Five of the Olympic golds came in individual races and three in relays, where each team member skis and shoots in turn. At Salt Lake City in 2002 he won every men's event on the…0i
  9. 9Valentina VezzaliValentina VezzaliBorn 14 Feb 1974Fencing, Italy. Vezzali won the individual foil at three Olympics in a row, 2000, 2004 and 2008, and team foil golds in 2000 and 2012, along with many world titles in both formats. Team fencing is a relay of bouts in which each fencer picks up the score where a team-mate left off, and Vezzali was…0i
  10. 10Michael PhelpsMichael PhelpsBorn 30 Jun 1985Swimming, United States. Phelps won 23 Olympic golds between 2004 and 2016, 13 in individual events and 10 in relays. His eight golds at Beijing in 2008 depended on both: the individual medley and butterfly titles were his alone, while the 4x100 metres freestyle relay was won only because team-mate…0i