Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 5 Total Medals

Greatest Summer Olympians

At the '86 Goodwill Games, Joyner-Kersee made history when she became the first woman ever to score over 7,000 points in a heptathlon event. The feat was a precursor for what was to come. At the '88 Seoul Games, her first Olympics, she set the heptathlon world record with 7,291 points-—a record that still stands today. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)

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Michael Phelps, ... Phelps made history by winning eight gold medals in Beijing. Among the greatest athletes in Olympics history, he stands alone with 14 total gold medals. He currently holds seven world records, all of which were set at this year's Summer Games. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Mark Spitz, 11 T... Long considered one of the greatest male swimmers in U.S. history, Spitz captured seven gold medals and set seven world records in the '72 Munich Games. (AP Photo)

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Carl Lewis, 10 T... Lewis won 10 medals (nine gold) in his Olympic career. He still holds the world record for the indoor long jump, and his 65 consecutive long jump victories remains one of the longest winning streaks in sports. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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Jesse Owens, 4 T... The former Buckeye shocked the world when he won four gold medals at the ’36 Berlin Games, winning the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4x100 meter relay. In honor of his accomplishments, President Eisenhower named Owens an "Ambassador of Sports." (Getty Images/Hulton Archive)

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Nadia Comenici, ... Winner of five Olympic gold medals and the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 in an Olympic event, Comanici was twice awarded the Olympic Order, the highest honor given by the IOC, in ’84 and '04. (AP Photo)

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Paavo Nurmi, 12 ... One of three "Flying Finns," Nurmi took the track by storm when he won four medals (three gold, one silver) in four events at the '20 Summer Games. With 12 total medals in his Olympic career, he is often considered the greatest track and field athlete of all time. (AP Photo)

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Jackie Joyner-Ke... At the '86 Goodwill Games, Joyner-Kersee made history when she became the first woman ever to score over 7,000 points in a heptathlon event. The feat was a precursor for what was to come. At the '88 Seoul Games, her first Olympics, she set the heptathlon world record with 7,291 points-—a record that still stands today. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)

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Florence Griffit... After picking up a silver medal in the 200 meters in '84, "Flo-Jo" took home three golds in the '88 Olympics. A dominating performance landed her the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay titles, and a 4x400m relay silver. (AP Photo/Eric Draper)

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Alexander Kareli... Karelin redefined the sport of Greco-Roman wrestling with his dominating gold-medal performances in the '88, '92, and '96 Olympics. Aptly nicknamed the "Russian Bear," he held a six-year unbeaten streak until he was upset by American Rulon Gardner in their gold-medal final at the 2000 Sydney Games. (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz)

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Jim Thorpe, 2 To... Thorpe captured two gold medals for decathlon and pentathlon at the Stockholm Games. He was subsequently stripped of those medals when he violated rules governing amateur status for receiving money for his play in two minor league seasons leading up the 1912 Olympics. His medals were restored in 1983--30 years after his death. (Getty Images/Hulton Archive)

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Bob Beamon, 1968... Beamon set a world record for the long jump with a leap of 29 ft., 2½ in. The mark broke the previous record by almost two feet and prompted defending Olympic champion Lynn Davies to tell Beamon, "You have destroyed this event." Sports Illustrated named it one of the five greatest sports moments of the 20th century. (Getty Images/Douglas Miller)

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Edwin Moses, 3 T... Moses won Olympic gold in '76 and '84, missing Moscow in '80 because of the U.S. boycott. In '88, he finished third in the Olympic final—his first ever loss in a championship race. From '77-1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals and set the world record in his event four times. (AP Photo)

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Michael Johnson,... Johnson is a two-time gold medal winner in both the 400m and 4x400m relay. At the '96 Atlanta Games, Johnson won the 200m and later the 400m gold, a feat never before achieved by a male in one Olympics. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)

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Guo JingJing, 4 ... JingJing started diving at the young age of six. After winning two more gold medals in Beijing, she became the most decorated female diver in Olympic history and tied Greg Louganis for the most individual diving golds with four. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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Emil Zatopek, 5 ... After winning gold medals in the 5 and 10 kms, Zatopek made history when he decided at the last minute to compete in the marathon for the first time in his career. Such a feat had never been attempted at the Olympic level. Zatopek then won gold, his third of the Helsinki Games. (Getty Images/Topical Press Agency)

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Lasse Viren, 4 T... Viren won the 5,000m and 10,000m gold medals in '72 and '76. He may be best remembered for his fall in the 10,000m final in Munich, but continuing on to win in a world record 27 minutes 38.35 seconds. The native of Finland is the only repeat winner of the 5,000 meter race in Olympic history. (Allsport Hulton/Archive)

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Steven Redgrave,... Redgrave has been hailed as Britain’s greatest Olympian after winning gold medals in rowing over five consecutive Olympic Games from '84-'00. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Babe Didrikson, ... Because she was a female, Didrikson was limited to entering three events in the '32 Olympics. After choosing the javelin throw, 80 meter hurdles, and high jump, she nearly won them all. With gold medals in the javelin and hurdles, she then cleared the same height as Jean Shiley. Officials, however, disapproved of her jumping style (jumping over headfirst) and declared Shiley the Olympic champion. (AP Photo)

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Al Oerter, 4 Tot... There has yet to be a more dominant discus thrower than Oerter. Alongside Carl Lewis (long jump) and Paul Elvstrom (sailing), Oerter is the only Olympian to win four consecutive gold medals in the same individual event. (AP Photo)

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Teofilo Stevenso... With consecutive heavyweight boxing gold medals in '72, '76, and '80, Stevenson is regarded as one of the greatest Olympic boxers in history. He went 12-0 in Olympic competition and may have won a fourth gold had Cuba not followed the Soviet Union's decision to boycott the '84 Los Angeles Games. (AP Photo)

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Fanny Blankers-K... A versatile athlete, Blankers-Koen was the first woman to win four gold medals--and the first to do so in one Olympics. Blankers-Koen captured gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles, and 4x100m sprint relay in 1948. (Getty Images/Keystone)

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Dawn Fraser, 8 T... Fraser won three-straight Olympic 100m gold medals from '56-'64. Her career was cut short by a 10-year suspension for leading a raid to steal a flag from the Emperor's Palace in Tokyo. (Getty Images/Keystone)

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Matthew Pinsent,... The Englishman won back-to-back golds in '92 and '96 in the coxless pair. In the '00 and '04 Games, he won Olympic gold again as part of a coxless four. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

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Olga Korbut, 6 T... Korbut won two golds, a silver, bronze, and two team golds for Russia in '72. Her success led to an increase in the popularity of gymnastics at both the grassroots level and in world media coverage. (Getty Images/Graham Wood/Evening Standard)

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Larissa Latynina... Few gymnasts have been able to match Latynina's greatness. She was the first female athlete to win nine Olympic golds, and is the only Olympian in history to win 18 medals. (Getty Images/Central Press/Hulton Archive)

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Dara Torres, 12 ... The first U.S. swimmer to compete in five Olympics, Torres hopes to make it six. That will give her a chance to add to the four gold, four silver and four bronze medals she owns. Three of the silvers came in Beijing when she was over 40. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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