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This is a list of Olympians that have won at least three gold medals in one event. It includes top-three placings in 1896 and 1900, before medals were awarded for top-three placings. Medals won in the 1906 Intercalated Games are not included. The Olympics listed for each athlete only include games when they won medals in the specified event.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Sex | Period | Games | Sport | Event |  |  |  | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mijaín López |  Cuba | M | 2008–2024 | Summer | Wrestling | Greco-Roman 120/130 kg [n 1] | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Paul Elvstrøm |  Denmark | M | 1948–1960 | Summer | Sailing | Firefly/Finn [n 2] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Al Oerter |  United States | M | 1956–1968 | Summer | Athletics | Discus throw | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Carl Lewis | United States | M | 1984–1996 | Summer | Athletics | Long jump | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Michael Phelps | United States | M | 2004–2016 | Summer | Swimming | 200 m individual medley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Vincent Hancock NC | United States | M | 2008–2024 | Summer | Shooting | Skeet | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Katie Ledecky | United States | F | 2012–2024 | Summer | Swimming | 800 m freestyle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 8 | Georg Hackl |  West Germany Germany | M | 1988–2002 | Winter | Luge | Singles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Ralf Schumann NC |  East Germany Germany | M | 1988–2008 | Summer | Shooting | 25 m rapid fire pistol | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |
| 10 | Claudia Pechstein | Germany | F | 1992–2006 | Winter | Speed skating | 5000 m | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Valentina Vezzali |  Italy | F | 1996–2012 | Summer | Fencing | Individual foil | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Ireen Wüst NC |  Netherlands | F | 2006–2022 | Winter | Speed skating | 1500 m | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 13 | Gillis Grafström |  Sweden | M | 1920–1932 | Both | Figure skating | Singles | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Klaus Dibiasi | Italy | M | 1964–1976 | Summer | Diving | 10 m platform | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Viktor Saneyev |  Soviet Union | M | 1968–1980 | Summer | Athletics | Triple jump | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Aleksandr Karelin | Soviet Union  Unified Team  Russia | M | 1988–2000 | Summer | Wrestling | Greco-Roman 130 kg | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Jan Železný |  Czechoslovakia Czech Republic | M | 1988–2000 | Summer | Athletics | Javelin throw | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Anky van Grunsven | Netherlands | F | 1996–2008 | Summer | Equestrian | Individual dressage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Jong-oh Jin |  South Korea | M | 2004–2016 | Summer | Shooting | 50 m pistol | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Michael Phelps | United States | M | 2004–2016 | Summer | Swimming | 100 m butterfly | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Michael Phelps NC | United States | M | 2004–2016 | Summer | Swimming | 200 m butterfly | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Saori Yoshida |  Japan | F | 2004–2016 | Summer | Wrestling | Freestyle 53/55 kg [n 1] | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Sven Kramer | Netherlands | M | 2006–2018 | Winter | Speed Skating | 5000 m | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 24 | Teddy Riner NC |  France | M | 2008–2024 | Summer | Judo | +100kg | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 25 | Gert Fredriksson | Sweden | M | 1948–1960 | Summer | Canoeing | K-1 1000 m | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Pyrros Dimas |  Greece | M | 1992–2004 | Summer | Weightlifting | 85 kg | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Kjetil André Aamodt NC |  Norway | M | 1992–2006 | Winter | Alpine Skiing | Super-G | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Natalie Geisenberger | Germany | F | 2010-2022 | Winter | Luge | Singles | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 29 | Ray Ewry |  United States | M | 1900–1908 | Summer | Athletics | Standing high jump | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Ray Ewry | United States | M | 1900–1908 | Summer | Athletics | Standing long jump | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| John Flanagan | United States | M | 1900–1908 | Summer | Athletics | Hammer throw | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Sonja Henie | Norway | F | 1928–1936 | Winter | Figure skating | Singles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| László Papp |  Hungary | M | 1948–1956 | Summer | Boxing | Middleweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Dawn Fraser |  Australia | F | 1956–1964 | Summer | Swimming | 100 m freestyle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Vyacheslav Ivanov | Soviet Union | M | 1956–1964 | Summer | Rowing | Single sculls | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Larisa Latynina | Soviet Union | F | 1956–1964 | Summer | Gymnastics | Floor exercise | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Irina Rodnina | Soviet Union | F | 1972–1980 | Winter | Figure skating | Pairs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Teófilo Stevenson | Cuba | M | 1972–1980 | Summer | Boxing | Heavyweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Ulrich Wehling | East Germany | M | 1972–1980 | Winter | Nordic combined | Individual | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Pertti Karppinen |  Finland | M | 1976–1984 | Summer | Rowing | Single sculls | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Bonnie Blair | United States | F | 1988–1994 | Winter | Speed skating | 500 m | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Krisztina Egerszegi | Hungary | F | 1988–1996 | Summer | Swimming | 200 m backstroke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Naim Süleymanoğlu |  Turkey | M | 1988–1996 | Summer | Weightlifting | 60/64 kg [n 1] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Félix Savón | Cuba | M | 1992–2000 | Summer | Boxing | Heavyweight | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Robert Korzeniowski |  Poland | M | 1996–2004 | Summer | Athletics | 50 km walk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Halil Mutlu | Turkey | M | 1996–2004 | Summer | Weightlifting | 54/56 kg [n 1] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Tadahiro Nomura | Japan | M | 1996–2004 | Summer | Judo | 60 kg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Buvaisar Saitiev NC | Russia | M | 1996–2008 | Summer | Wrestling | Freestyle 74 kg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Tony Estanguet NC | France | M | 2000–2012 | Summer | Canoeing | Slalom C-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Ben Ainslie [n 3] |  Great Britain | M | 2004–2012 | Summer | Sailing | Finn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Kaori Icho [n 4] | Japan | F | 2004–2012 | Summer | Wrestling | Freestyle 63 kg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Ole Einar Bjørndalen NC | Norway | M | 1998–2014 | Winter | Biathlon | 10 km sprint | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Kristin Armstrong | United States | F | 2008–2016 | Summer | Cycling | Time trial | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Usain Bolt |  Jamaica | M | 2008–2016 | Summer | Athletics | 100 m | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Usain Bolt | Jamaica | M | 2008–2016 | Summer | Athletics | 200 m | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Shaun White NC | United States | M | 2006–2018 | Winter | Snowboarding | Halfpipe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Dario Cologna |  Switzerland | M | 2010–2018 | Winter | Cross-country skiing | 15 km | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Lisa Carrington |  New Zealand | F | 2012–2020 | Summer | Canoeing | K-1 200 m | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Áron Szilágyi | Hungary | M | 2012–2020 | Summer | Fencing | Individual sabre | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Anita Włodarczyk | Poland | F | 2012–2020 | Summer | Athletics | Hammer throw | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Lü Xiaojun |  China | M | 2012–2020 | Summer | Weightlifting | 77/81 kg [n 1] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Ryan Crouser | United States | M | 2016–2024 | Summer | Athletics | Shot put | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Nafissatou Thiam |  Belgium | F | 2016–2024 | Summer | Athletics | Heptathlon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Faith Kipyegon |  Kenya | F | 2016–2024 | Summer | Athletics | 1500m | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Lasha Talakhadze |  Georgia | M | 2016–2024 | Summer | Weightlifting | +102/104/109 kg [n 1] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
NC: Gold medals won in non-consecutive Olympic Games
Athletes who won three golds in different weight classes:
Soviet Union, freestyle wrestling) — light heavyweight 1964 (97 kg); heavyweight 1968 (+97 kg) and 1972 (+100 kg) Unified Team/
Greece, weightlifting) — 1992 90 kg (fourth-heaviest, between 82.5 kg and 100 kg ); 1996 99 kg (third-heaviest, between 91 kg and 108 kg ); 2000 94 kg (third-heaviest, between 85 kg and 105 kg ).Athletes who forfeited golds after retesting of samples revealed drug violations:
Uzbekistan, freestyle wrestling 120 kg) — 2004, 2008 (forfeited 2017), and 2012 (forfeited 2019) |
|
| Rank | Athletes | Nation | Sex | Period | Games | Sport | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pavol Hochschorner Peter Hochschorner |  Slovakia | M | 2000–2008 | Summer | Canoeing | C-2 slalom | 3 |
| Misty May-Treanor Kerri Walsh | United States | F | 2004–2012 | Summer | Beach volleyball | Team | 3 | |
| Tobias Arlt Tobias Wendl | Germany | M | 2014–2022 | Winter | Luge | Doubles | 3 |
Artur Borisovich Taymazov is Uzbek-Russian wrestler and politician. He was Uzbekistan's most decorated Olympian before being stripped of two gold medals for doping. In 2016, he was elected to the 7th State Duma of the Russian Federation representing United Russia.
Yuri Norayrovich Vardanyan was a Soviet Armenian weightlifter. Vardanyan won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics, becoming the world's first weightlifter to achieve a 400 kilogram total in the 82.5 kg weight category. During his career he set several world records. He trained at Lokomotiv in Leninakan, Armenia. He earned the title Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1977 and was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1985. In 1994 he was elected a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.
Blagoy Blagoev is a retired Bulgarian weightlifter. Between 1976 and 1984 he claimed seven gold and five silver medals at the Summer Olympics and World and European championships, and was stripped of an additional silver medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics due to testing positive for anabolic steroid use. He set 18 world records. 13 of them were in the snatch. His last snatch world record was 195.5 kg in the 90 kg weight class, set on 1 May 1983 in Varna and remains the heaviest weight ever snatched by a middle heavyweight. Blagoev was twice declared the Best Weightlifter in the World by the International Weightlifting Federation - in 1982 and 1983. Blagoev was named Sportsperson of the Year in Bulgaria for 1982.
The heavyweight was the heaviest freestyle wrestling weight class held as part of the wrestling programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It included wrestlers weighing over 158 pounds (71.7 kg). It was the first time the event, like all other freestyle wrestling events, was held in Olympic competition. It was held on Friday, October 14, 1904 and on Saturday, October 15, 1904. Five wrestlers competed.
The 1974 Asian Games was a multi-sport event held in Tehran, Iran from September 1, 1974, to September 16, 1974. This was the first time that Asian Games were celebrated in any Middle East country. A total of 3,010 athletes selected from 25 Asian National Olympic Committees participated in 16 sports divided into 202 events. The number of participating countries was the greatest in Asian Games history, eighteen nations competed in Bangkok, host of the 1970 Asian Games. Fencing, gymnastics (artistic) and women's basketball were included for the first time; while sailing—which made its debut in the previous Asian Games—was not included, however since 1978, sailing is a part of the Asian Games sports.
Kyle Frederick Snyder is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 97 kilograms.
Cuba competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twentieth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Cuban team consisted of 124 athletes, 89 men and 35 women, across eighteen sports.
Kazakhstan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era. The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan fielded a roster of 104 athletes, 55 men and 49 women, to compete across seventeen different sports at these Games, the smallest Summer Olympic team since the nation's debut in Atlanta 1996. Moreover, Kazakhstan did not send teams in any of the team sports for the first time in twenty years. Track and field accounted for the largest number of athletes on the Kazakh squad, with 25 entries. There was a single competitor each in slalom canoeing, track cycling, fencing, and table tennis.
Mongolia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation made its debut in 1964, Mongolian athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, because of its partial support to the Soviet boycott.
Azerbaijan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Uzbekistan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Georgia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Kyrgyzstan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Armenia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Cameroon competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's fourteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Uzbekistan competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Cuba competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cuban delegation was their smallest since 1964, which coincidentally was also in Tokyo. It was the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics. Cuba improved on its 2016 result, by winning 7 gold and 15 total medals after 5 and 11 in Rio.
Colombia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's twentieth appearance at the Summer Olympics, with the exception of Helsinki 1952.
Ecuador competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fifteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, and its most successful to date. The country won its third, fourth, and fifth ever medals, two golds and one silver, respectively, during the games.
Tunisia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's official debut in 1960, Tunisian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the nation's partial support for the US-led boycott.
| Medalists and medal tables | |
|---|---|
| Multiple medalists | |
| Multiple gold medalists | |
| Appearances in more sports | |
| Other statistics | |
