Every four years, the world is captivated by incredible athletes from across the globe competing in the Winter Olympics. Some Olympians come into the competition hoping to find their way onto the podium against the odds, while others arrive feeling as though they will need an extra suitcase to bring home all their medals.
In each iteration of the Winter Olympics, at least one athlete has taken home multiple medals – in some cases as many as five. These top medalists have marked their place in Olympic history by being the most dominant athletes on skates or skis, earning a lifetime of fame and bringing glory to their countries. (These are the top Winter Olympics medal winners of all time.)
To determine the top medal winner of every Winter Olympics, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from Olympedia. In the case of ties, we selected the athlete that won the most golds as a tie-breaker. For Olympic Games in which two athletes won the exact same number and type of medal, both were included.
Certain sports lend themselves to having multi-medalist athletes, as disciplines like speed skating and cross country skiing offer competitions at a number of distances, as well as team and individual events. Of the 26 athletes on the list, there are 13 speed skaters, nine cross country skiers, two alpine skiers, one biathlete, and one ski jumper.
Click here to see the athlete who won the most medals at every Winter Olympics
As you might expect, the countries that produced the most top medalists from the Winter Olympics tend to be places with colder weather. Norway, Finland, and the former Soviet Union all have multiple athletes on this list, as does the U.S., with three.
Only one athlete has ever brought home the most medals in multiple different Winter Olympics – Norwegian cross country skier Marit Bjørgen. She racked up 15 total medals, including eight golds, in her five trips to the Winter Olympics. This makes her not just the most decorated Winter Olympian ever, but one of the 40 most successful athletes of the 21st century.
Source: Suomen Urheilumuseo / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1924: Chamonix, France
> Top medal winner Clas Thunberg, Finland
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
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Source: Unknown author / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1928: St. Moritz, Switzerland
> Top medal winner Bernt Evensen, Norway
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
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Source: FPG / Archive Photos via Getty Images
1932: Lake Placid, New York
> Top medal winner Irving Jaffee, USA (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 2
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold
Source: FPG / Archive Photos via Getty Images
1932: Lake Placid, New York
> Top medal winner Jack Shea, USA (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 2
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold
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Source: Alf Schrøder / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1936: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
> Top medal winner Ivar Ballangrud, Norway
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver
Source: Unknown author / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1948: St. Moritz, Switzerland
> Top medal winner Henri Oreiller, France
> Discipline: Alpine Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 1 bronze
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Source: annedavid2012 / Flickr
1952: Oslo, Norway
> Top medal winner Hjalmar Andersen, Norway
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
Source: Västerbottens-Kuriren - skidsm2014.se / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1956: Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
> Top medal winner Sixten Jernberg, Sweden
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Source: Unknown author - Gazzetta dello Sport / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1960: Squaw Valley, California
> Top medal winner Veikko Hakulinen, Finland
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
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1964: Innsbruck, Austria
> Top medal winner Lidiya Skoblikova, Soviet Union
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold
Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
1968: Grenoble, France
> Top medal winner Jean-Claude Killy, France
> Discipline: Alpine Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
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Source: FPG / Getty Images
1972: Sapporo, Japan
> Top medal winner Galina Kulakova, Soviet Union (tied)
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
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Source: Ron Kroon / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1972: Sapporo, Japan
> Top medal winner Ard Schenk, Netherlands (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
1976: Innsbruck, Austria
> Top medal winner Tatyana Averina-Barabash, Soviet Union
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 2 bronze
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Source: Central Press / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
1980: Lake Placid, New York
> Top medal winner Eric Heiden, USA
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 5 gold
Source: Pascal Rondeau / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
1984: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
> Top medal winner Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi-Hämäläinen, Finland
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 bronze
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Source: Croes, Rob C. / Anefo / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1988: Calgary, Canada
> Top medal winner Yvonne van Gennip, Netherlands (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
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Source: Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
1988: Calgary, Canada
> Top medal winner Matti Nykänen, Finland (tied)
> Discipline: Ski Jumping
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
Source: Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
1992: Albertville, France
> Top medal winner Lyubov Yegorova, Unified Team
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 2 silver
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Source: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
1994: Lillehammer, Norway
> Top medal winner Manuela Di Centa, Italy
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
Source: Adam Pretty / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
1998: Nagano, Japan
> Top medal winner Larisa Lazutina, Russian Federation
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
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Source: Agence Zoom / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
2002: Salt Lake City, Utah
> Top medal winner Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norway
> Discipline: Biathlon
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold
Source: Jasper Juinen / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
2006: Turin, Italy
> Top medal winner Cindy Klassen, Canada
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
2010: Vancouver, Canada
> Top medal winner Marit Bjørgen, Norway
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
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Source: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
2014: Sochi, Russia
> Top medal winner Ireen Wüst, Netherlands
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 3 silver
Source: Lars Baron / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
2018: Pyeongchang, South Korea
> Top medal winner Marit Bjørgen, Norway
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
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