America’s Greatest Olympic Athletes

The United States has had plenty of success throughout the years at the Olympics. Many athletes have risen to fame with their performances in the summer Games. To rank the best summer Olympians ever is a tough proposition, so we’ll only include athletes of the last 40 years.

With all due respect to past Olympic greats Jesse Owens, Jim Thorpe, Bob Mathias, Al Oerter, Bob Beamon, Florence Griffith-Joyner, and a number of great team athletes that also didn’t make the list, here are the greatest American athletes.

10. Edwin Moses, Track and Field; 1976, 1984, 1988: Three medals (two gold, one bronze)—Moses absolutely dominated the 400-meter hurdles in his time, winning the event an incredible 122 straight times, including in the ’76 and ’84 Games. Though the ’80 boycott robbed him of a probable three-peat, Moses was the only American Track and Field athlete to win his event in the Olympics before and after the boycott.

9. Mary Lou Retton, Gymnastics; 1984: Five medals (one gold, two silver, and two bronze)—Retton’s clutch perfect-10 performance on both the floor and the vault in ’84 won her the individual gold—something which hadn’t ever been done by the Americans in gymnastics. Her incredible popularity following the performance heightened interest in the sport all across the country.

8. Matt Biondi, Swimming; 1984, 1988, 1992: 11 medals (eight gold, two silver, one bronze)—Biondi was especially dominant at Seoul in ’88. The six-foot, seven-inch former water polo player won gold in both the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, silver in the 100-meter fly, bronze in the 200-meter freestyle, and then three relay gold medals.

7. Natalie Coughlin, Swimming; 2004, 2008, 2012: 12 medals (three gold, four silver, five bronze)—Coughlin, who picked up another bronze on Saturday in the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle has now medaled in all 12 Olympic races she’s been in. Somewhat overshadowed by Phelps’ performance in 2008, Coughlin brought home an American women’s record six medals in six events.

6. Michael Johnson, Track and Field; 1992, 1996, 2000: Four medals (all gold)—Johnson rose to fame in ’96 with his upright running style that netted him golds in both the 200-meter and 400-meter sprint—which had never been done before in the Olympics. In the process he set the world record in the former and an Olympic record in the latter.

5. Greg Louganis, Diving; 1976, 1984, 1988: Five medals (four gold, one silver)—Louganis became the first Olympian diver to win both platform and springboard events at consecutive Olympics. Had there not been a boycott in 1980 he surely would have had more medals.

4. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track and Field; 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996: Six medals (three gold, one silver, two bronze)—Kersee won back-to-back golds in the heptathlon in ’88 and ’92 after winning silver in ’84. The former UCLA-basketball player’s best showing was at Seoul in ’88, winning the long jump and setting a still-standing record in the heptathlon.

3. Mark Spitz, Swimming; 1968, 1972: 11 medals (nine gold, one silver, one bronze)—After predicting six golds at the Mexico City Games in ’68 and coming home with two relay golds, Spitz came back with a vengeance the next time around. The Californian entered seven races in ’72 and won them all while setting world records in each of them. His overall performance of seven golds in one Olympics was a record that stood for 36 years.

2. Carl Lewis, Track and Field; 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996: 10 medals (nine gold, one silver)—The versatile (and clutch) Lewis won gold in four consecutive Olympics in the long jump, tying an Olympic record. The speedster also won gold in back-to-back 100-meter sprints. He was at his most dominant in ’84 though, equaling Jesse Ownens’ track and field record of four golds by winning the 100-meter, 200-meter, long jump, and the 4×100-meter relay.

1. Michael Phelps, Swimming; 2004, 2008, 2012: 17 medals (14 gold, one silver, one bronze)—Phelps’ unprecedented eight-gold achievement alone in Beijing in 2008 is enough, by itself, to put him near the top of any top-Olympian list. It almost makes one forget his performance in Athens in 2004 when he took home six golds and a pair of bronze medals while chasing Spitz.

The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.