Who Has the Most Olympic Medals in 2026?

Michael Phelps is still the most decorated Olympian of all time. The American swimming legend retired with 28 Olympic medals, including 23 golds, more than any athlete in Olympic history, summer or winter. Behind him sit gymnastics icon Larisa Latynina with 18, Norwegian cross-country skiing great Marit Bjørgen and Soviet gymnast Nikolay Andrianov tied at 15 each, and Katie Ledecky with 14.

This ranking has not changed at the top since the Paris 2024 Games. What has changed is the wider picture: at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Norway's Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won six gold medals, a Winter Olympics record, to reach 11 career golds, second only to Phelps. But his 13 total medals still place him below Bjørgen, Andrianov and Ledecky on a strict medal count basis, so the established top five holds.

Most Olympic Medals in 2026?

Rank	Athlete	Country	Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Michael Phelps	USA	Swimming	23	3	2	28
2	Larisa Latynina	USSR	Gymnastics	9	5	4	18
3	Marit Bjørgen	Norway	Cross-country skiing	8	4	3	15
4	Nikolay Andrianov	USSR	Gymnastics	7	5	3	15
5	Katie Ledecky	USA	Swimming	9	4	1	14

Bjørgen and Andrianov are tied on total medals. Bjørgen is listed above him because she has one more gold, 8 to 7. Ledecky's Olympic career is still active, so this total may still grow.

1. Michael Phelps: 28 Olympic Medals

Image Source: Twitter

Michael Phelps is the clear all-time leader, and by a wide margin.

The American swimmer competed at five Olympics, from Sydney 2000 through Rio 2016, finishing with 28 medals: 23 gold, three silver and two bronze. His 2004 Athens campaign brought six golds and two bronzes. Four years later in Beijing, he produced arguably the greatest single-Games performance in Olympic history, winning eight gold medals. He added six more medals at London 2012, including four golds, then closed his career at Rio 2016 with five golds and a silver.

He retired after Rio and has remained retired ever since. His total has not changed in a decade. No athlete has come within ten medals of his record.

Michael Phelps Career Highlights

Five-time Olympian
28 total medals
23 gold medals, also a record
Eight golds at a single Games, Beijing 2008
Olympic career spanned 2000 to 2016

2. Larisa Latynina: 18 Olympic Medals

Image Source: Twitter

For nearly five decades, Larisa Latynina held the record Phelps would eventually break.

The Soviet gymnast won 18 medals across three Olympics, Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964, with nine gold, five silver and four bronze. Remarkably, she won six medals at each of her three Games, a level of consistency virtually unmatched in Olympic history. Her all-time medal record stood from 1964 until Phelps surpassed it at London 2012.

Latynina remains the most decorated female Olympian ever by total medal count, and she later went on to coach the Soviet women's gymnastics team.

Larisa Latynina Career Highlights

Three-time Olympian
18 total medals
9 gold medals
Six medals at every Games she competed in
Most decorated female Olympian of all time

3. Marit Bjørgen: 15 Olympic Medals

Image Source: Twitter

Marit Bjørgen is the most decorated Winter Olympian in history.

The Norwegian cross-country skier won 15 medals across four Winter Games between 2002 and 2018: eight gold, four silver and three bronze. Her first Olympic medal came as a member of Norway's silver medal relay team at Salt Lake City 2002. She broke out fully at Vancouver 2010, winning five medals including three golds, then added three more golds at Sochi 2014. Her final Olympics, PyeongChang 2018, brought five more medals, pushing her past Ole Einar Bjørndalen to become the most decorated Winter Olympian by total medals.

Bjørgen retired from competitive cross-country skiing in 2022, having also amassed 114 individual World Cup victories, the most in the sport's history.

Marit Bjørgen Career Highlights

Five-time Olympian
15 total medals
8 gold medals
Most decorated Winter Olympian of all time
114 individual World Cup wins

4. Nikolay Andrianov: 15 Olympic Medals

Image Source: Twitter

Nikolay Andrianov matches Bjørgen's total, but his medals came entirely in artistic gymnastics.

The Soviet gymnast competed at three Olympics, Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980, winning 15 medals: seven gold, five silver and three bronze. His peak came at Montreal 1976, where he won seven medals, including four golds: the individual all-around, floor exercise, rings and vault. He added five more medals, including two golds, at Moscow 1980 before retiring from competition.

Andrianov's record as the most decorated male Olympian stood until Phelps surpassed it at Beijing 2008. He died in 2011 at age 58.

Nikolay Andrianov Career Highlights

Three-time Olympian
15 total medals
7 gold medals
Seven medals at a single Games, Montreal 1976
Held the all-time male medal record before Phelps

5. Katie Ledecky: 14 Olympic Medals

Image Source: Twitter

Katie Ledecky is the only athlete on this list whose Olympic story is still being written.

The American swimmer has won 14 medals across four Olympics, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, with nine gold, four silver and one bronze. She burst onto the scene at London 2012, winning the 800m freestyle at age 15. Rio 2016 was her most productive Games, with four golds and a silver. She added two golds and two silvers at Tokyo 2020, then four more medals at Paris 2024, including gold in both the 800m and 1500m freestyle, giving her four consecutive Olympic golds in the same individual event, a first for a female swimmer.

Ledecky remains an active competitor in 2026. At the Pan Pacific Championships in August 2026, she won the 1500m freestyle but was beaten in the 800m freestyle by Australia's Lani Pallister, her first defeat in that event at a major international meet in roughly 13 years. She is expected to target a fifth Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028, where she could add to her total.

Katie Ledecky Career Highlights

Four-time Olympian so far
14 total medals
9 gold medals
Four consecutive Olympic golds in the 800m freestyle
Still competing, with LA 2028 a possible fifth Games

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics produced the biggest new storyline in Olympic medal history, even though it did not change the top five.

Norway's Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won six gold medals at a single Winter Games, a new record, surpassing the mark of five set by American speed skater Eric Heiden at Lake Placid in 1980. That took Klæbo's career total to 11 golds, second only to Phelps across both Summer and Winter Olympics, and gave him 13 medals overall, 11 gold, one silver and one bronze. His performance helped power Norway to records for both most golds, 18, and most total medals, 41, by any country at a single Winter Games.

Even so, Klæbo's 13 total medals fall short of Bjørgen and Andrianov, 15 each, and Ledecky, 14, so he sits just outside the historical top five on total medal count, a reminder that most golds and most medals overall are different records.

Why Phelps' Record Is So Hard to Break?

The gap between first and second place is the most striking number in this entire ranking: Phelps' 28 medals are ten more than Latynina's 18, and his 23 golds are fourteen more than the next best tally, nine, shared by Latynina and Ledecky.

Swimming offers more individual medal events than gymnastics or cross-country skiing, which partly explains Phelps' volume. But matching his longevity, five Olympics, sixteen years, sustained dominance across multiple strokes and distances- has proven far harder to replicate than the medal count alone suggests.