Olympic Facts: Most Consecutive Olympic Gold Medals

The Olympic Games bring together thousands of athletes from multiple sports disciplines every four years, but only a few return home with a medal. Winning an Olympic medal is the greatest achievement a professional athlete can achieve in his career and, as you can imagine, winning a good handful of them is something that exceeds anyone's expectations. In this article, we will discuss the Olympic facts about athletes who have the most consecutive Olympic gold medals.

Also Read: Olympic Facts: From Youngest to Oldest to most successful medalists and more

Olympic Facts: Most Consecutive Olympic Gold Medals

7. Paul Elvstrøm (Sailing) | 4 

Danish yachtsman, Paul Elvstrøm, who is considered the greatest sailor in Olympic history, dominated Finn-class sailing between 1948 and 1960. He is one of only three Olympians to win the same individual event four times in a row. Elvstrøm is also one of only four athletes to compete in eight or more editions of the Games. He was the first Olympic athlete to take individual golds in four consecutive Games.

Elvstrøm won the Firefly sailing class in 1948. This class evolved into the Finn monotype class, which Elvstrøm then won in 1952, 1956, and 1960. After being a reserve on the Danish team in 1964, he competed in 1968 and 1972. Although he did not win a medal, he did place fourth in the 1968 Star class competition.

6. Alfred Oerter (Discus Throw) | 4

An Olympic legend, American discus thrower Alfred Oerter was the first track and field athlete to win four successive Olympic titles, a feat since equaled only by Carl Lewis in the long jump.

Oerter took the four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the discus in 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968, setting a new Olympic record on each occasion, although he was never the favorite to win the event. His third victory in 1964 was remarkable for the fact that he overcame the handicap of neck and rib injuries, but still managed to set a career best.

Oerter retired after the Olympic Games of 1968 but returned to full-time competition in 1977 with the goal of making the 1980 Olympic Games and winning a fifth gold medal. His comeback was derailed by the 1980 Olympic boycott by the United States, but Oerter did post the longest throw in the world in 1980.

5. Carl Lewis (Long Jump) | 4

American former track and field athlete, Carl Lewis won four consecutive gold medals in the long jump at Los Angeles in 1984, Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992, and Atlanta in 1996. 

Making his Olympic debut at the age of 23, Lewis won 10 medals, including eight golds, at the World Outdoor Championships. He is one of two athletes (the other being Paavo Nurmi) to win nine Olympic gold medals. Similarly, he is one of two (the other being Al Oerter) to win four golds in the same event. Lewis is now a full-time assistant coach at the University of Houston.

Also Read: 8 unbreakable Olympic records: Bolt, Phelps, Kim and more

4. Kaori Icho (Wrestling) | 4

Japanese freestyle wrestler Kaori Icho is the first female wrestler to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals, having won the event in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. Icho is also the first woman to win an individual gold medal in four straight Olympics, having started her historic run at the inaugural women's tournament in Athens in 2004. Multiple men have accomplished that feat, including American swimmer Michael Phelps.

Over the years, Icho had been a linchpin for Japan's historically dominant women's wrestling team. Ever since women's divisions were added to the Olympic wrestling program in 2004, she had earned gold in her weight class. In addition to her Olympic hardware, Icho has accrued 10 world titles and won 189 consecutive matches over a 13-year period from 2003-2016.

3. Katie Ledecky (Swimming) | 4

After winning the 800m freestyle event at the Paris 2024 Games, Katie Ledecky became the seventh Olympian to win four consecutive gold medals in the same event, and the second swimmer after Michael Phelps (who won the 200 IM in four consecutive Olympiads).

At the Paris 2024, Ledecky won her ninth gold medal and more deeply etched her name into the Olympic annals. She is now the most decorated female Olympian from the United States. Ledecky also ties with Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina for most Olympic gold medals won by a woman. Latynina won nine golds between 1956-1964.

2. Michael Phelps (Swimming) | 4

Michael Phelps is the first sportsperson to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event. He is an American former elite swimmer and the most successful and decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. He has an all-time high for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals at individual events (13), and Olympic medals at individual events (16). 

When Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he smashed Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at a single Olympic Games. At the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, Phelps won six gold and two bronze medals for a total of eight medals of any color at one of the Events. He won four gold and two silver medals at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and five gold and one silver medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.

Also Read: Top 10 athletes in the world with the most Olympic medals

1. Mijain Lopez (Wrestling) | 5 

Cuban great Mijain Lopez became the first athlete in history to win the most consecutive Olympic gold medals. He won the title in the Olympic event five times.

Superstar of Greco-Roman wrestling and already crowned Olympic champion in the 130kg class in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2021, Cuban Mijain Lopez has pulled off an unprecedented tour de force. By winning (6-0) his bout against Chile's Yasmani Acosta Fernandez in the Paris Olympics 2024 final, the wrestler validated his domination of the Olympic event for the fifth consecutive edition. A feat that no other wrestler has achieved in any discipline.

At the last Olympics, Lopez became the first male wrestler to win four Olympic gold medals when he dominated in the Tokyo Olympics, blowing through the field unscored upon in four matches. He gave up two points in four matches this time.