The world’s greatest winter sports athletes will convene in Beijing in February for the 24th Winter Olympic Games.
The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 at Chamonix in France, and over the course of the nearly 100 years of competition, the quadrennial event has produced its share of Olympic heroes. (Read about 14 times the Olympics have been canceled, boycotted, or postponed.)
To determine the athletes who won the most individual medals of all time – at last eight each – at the Winter Olympics, 24/7 Tempo reviewed Olympics medal counts from Olympedia.
Though many viewers are fixated on what country wins the most medals, the Olympic Games invariably produce athletes whose individual exploits resonate with sports fanatics, regardless of nationality. Speed skaters Eric Heiden of the United States (five gold medals) and Ard Schenk of the Netherlands (three gold medals), and skiers Jean-Claude Killy of France (three golds) and Alberto Tomba of Italy (three golds and two silvers) became household names for their dominant performances in the Winter Olympics.
As great as those four star athletes were, however, they didn’t win enough medals to make our list. Athletes from Norway and Germany dominate the list, scoring medals in Speed skating, Cross-country skiing, and the biathlon, which combines Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. (These are the countries with the most Winter Olympics gold medals.)
Click here to see the top Winter Olympics medal-winners of all time
Three of the five all-time medal winners are women, and one of them is looking to add to her medal hoard this year. Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst is the most honored active Winter Olympics competitor, with 11 medals, which also is the most of any female athlete at any Winter Olympics. She’ll look to add to her total in what will be her final Winter Olympics. Wüst is the only Winter Olympian to earn individual gold medals at four different Games.
To determine the most individual medals won all-time at the Winter Olympics, 24/7 Tempo reviewed Olympics games medal counts from Olympedia.
Source: Andreas Rentz / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
13. Arianna Fontana (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze
> Discipline: Short track Speed skating
> Games competed in: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
> Nation(s): Italy
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Source: Jamie Squire / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
13. Apolo Anton Ohno (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze
> Discipline: Short track Speed skating
> Games competed in: 2002, 2006, 2010
> Nation(s): USA
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Source: Public Domain Dedication / Wikimedia Commons
13. Karin Enke-Kania (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze
> Discipline: Speed skating
> Games competed in: 1980, 1984, 1988
> Nation(s): East Germany
Source: Pascal Rondeau / Getty Images
13. Gunda Kleemann-Niemann-Stirnemann (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze
> Discipline: Speed skating
> Games competed in: 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998
> Nation(s): East Germany / Germany
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Source: Shaun Botterill / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
13. Ricco Groß (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze
> Discipline: Biathlon
> Games competed in: 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
> Nation(s): Germany
Source: Richard Heathcote / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
13. Emil Hegle Svendsen (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze
> Discipline: Biathlon
> Games competed in: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
> Nation(s): Norway
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Source: FPG / Getty Images
13. Galina Kulakova (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980
> Nation(s): Russia / Soviet Union
Source: Clive Mason / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
13. Sven Fischer (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
> Discipline: Biathlon
> Games competed in: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
> Nation(s): Germany
Source: Agence Zoom / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
13. Kjetil André Aamodt (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
> Discipline: Alpine skiing
> Games competed in: 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
> Nation(s): Norway
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13. Viktor An (tied)
> Total medals: 8
> Medal breakdown: 6 gold, 0 silver, 2 bronze
> Discipline: Short track Speed skating
> Games competed in: 2002, 2006, 2014
> Nation(s): Republic of Korea / Russia
Source: Agence Zoom / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
7. Uschi Disl (tied)
> Total medals: 9
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze
> Discipline: Biathlon
> Games competed in: 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
> Nation(s): Germany
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Source: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
7. Charlotte Kalla (tied)
> Total medals: 9
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 6 silver, 0 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 2010, 2014, 2018
> Nation(s): Sweden
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
7. Sixten Jernberg (tied)
> Total medals: 9
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 1956, 1960, 1964
> Nation(s): Sweden
Source: Harry How / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
7. Sven Kramer (tied)
> Total medals: 9
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze
> Discipline: Speed skating
> Games competed in: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
> Nation(s): Netherlands
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Source: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
7. Claudia Pechstein (tied)
> Total medals: 9
> Medal breakdown: 5 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
> Discipline: Speed skating
> Games competed in: 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
> Nation(s): Germany
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7. Lyubov Yegorova (tied)
> Total medals: 9
> Medal breakdown: 6 gold, 3 silver, 0 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 1992, 1994, 2002
> Nation(s): Russia / Unified Team
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Source: Clive Mason / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
5. Stefania Belmondo (tied)
> Total medals: 10
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002
> Nation(s): Italy
Source: Tony Duffy / Getty Images
5. Raisa Smetanina (tied)
> Total medals: 10
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992
> Nation(s): Russia / Soviet Union / Unified Team
Source: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
4. Ireen Wüst
> Total medals: 11
> Medal breakdown: 5 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze
> Discipline: Speed skating
> Games competed in: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
> Nation(s): Netherlands
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Source: Al Bello / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
3. Bjørn Dæhlie
> Total medals: 12
> Medal breakdown: 8 gold, 4 silver, 0 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 1992, 1994, 1998
> Nation(s): Norway
Source: Richard Heathcote / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
2. Ole Einar Bjørndalen
> Total medals: 13
> Medal breakdown: 8 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze
> Discipline: Biathlon
> Games competed in: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
> Nation(s): Norway
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Source: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
1. Marit Bjørgen
> Total medals: 15
> Medal breakdown: 8 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze
> Discipline: Cross-country skiing
> Games competed in: 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
> Nation(s): Norway
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