The Most Decorated Swimmers in Olympics History
The Most Decorated Swimmers in Olympics History

by Nick Selbe

Dating back to the first modern Olympics in 1896, PointAfter ranks the 10 most decorated swimmers in the history of the Games.

In the battle for the title of greatest swimmer in Olympics history, there is no debate -- Michael Phelps is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack.

But while Phelps' résumé is unmatched, there are many other past greats that deserve recognition. PointAfter -- a sports data visualization site powered by Graphiq -- looked back at every Olympic Games since 1896 to find the most decorated swimmers of all time, both male and female.

Our scoring system for this ranking is the same as it is for most swim meets: Gold medals are worth five points, silver three and bronze one. The cumulative point total serves as each athlete's "Medal Score", and the list is sorted by this value. In the event of ties, the athlete with the most gold medals is ranked higher. If ties are still present, we used total silver medals as the determining factor. The final tiebreakers used were number of Games each athlete appeared in, followed by the most recent Olympics.

 

10. Dawn Fraser

Medal Score: 32

Country: Australia
Games medaled in: 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome, 1964 Tokyo

Total medals: 8
Gold: 4
Silver: 4
Bronze: 0

9. Alexander Popov

Medal Score: 35

Country: Russia
Games medaled in: 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney

Total medals: 9
Gold: 4
Silver: 5
Bronze: 0

8. Ian Thorpe

Medal Score: 35

Country: Australia
Games medaled in: 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens

Total medals: 9
Gold: 5
Silver: 3
Bronze: 1

7. Dara Torres

Medal Score: 36

Country: USA
Games medaled in: 1984 Los Angeles, 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, 2000 Sydney, 2008 Beijing

Total medals: 12
Gold: 4
Silver: 4
Bronze: 4

6. Gary Hall Jr.

Medal Score: 36

Country: USA
Games medaled in: 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens

Total medals: 10
Gold: 5
Silver: 3
Bronze: 2

5. Ryan Lochte

Medal Score: 37

Country: USA
Games medaled in: 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London

Total medals: 11
Gold: 5
Silver: 3
Bronze: 3

4. Matthew Biondi

Medal Score: 47

Country: USA
Games medaled in: 1984 Los Angeles, 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona

Total medals: 11
Gold: 8
Silver: 2
Bronze: 1

3. Mark Spitz

Medal Score: 49

Country: USA
Games medaled in: 1968 Mexico City, 1972 Munich

Total medals: 11
Gold: 9
Silver: 1
Bronze: 1

2. Jenny Thompson

Medal Score: 50

Country: USA
Games medaled in: 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens

Total medals: 12
Gold: 8
Silver: 3
Bronze: 1

1. Michael Phelps

Medal Score: 98

Country: USA
Games medaled in: 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2016 Rio

Total medals: 28
Gold: 23
Silver: 3
Bronze: 2

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"The Most Decorated Swimmers in Olympics History"