The Greatest Summer Olympians of All Time

Florence Griffith-Joyner, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles at the Olympic Games. — Photo:
Bettmann/Getty; Tom Pennington/Getty Images; Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

From Phelps and Ledecky in the pool to Biles and Comǎneci on the mat, the Olympic games always deliver the heart-pounding sports moments people talk about for decades, featuring athletes smashing records and winning over the hearts of fans around the world.

The Olympic games in 1974 had 198 events throughout 21 sports; the upcoming 2024 games will have 329 events in 32 sports. The games may have evolved but the greatness of the athletes from the past and present remains undeniable.

Over the past 50 years, many athletes have achieved Greatest of All Time status, earning superstardom through the amount of medals won, records held and unforgettable Olympic moments delivered. Check out 15 athletes who went from competitors to legends over the past five decades.

15 of 15

Michael Jordan (USA)

Michael Jordan is about to shoot during a match against Spain at Los Angeles on April 04, 1984 during the Olympic Games — AFP via Getty Images

Michael Jordan appeared in the Olympics games twice, and picked up gold medals both times. Jordan was also a part of the first U.S. Olympic basketball squad — 1992's "Dream Team" — to allow professional basketball players to participate. The fervor the team inspired sparked a global push to play basketball and cemented Jordan as one of the greatest athletes of all time.

14 of 15

Serena Williams (USA)

Serena Williams of the United States serves to Olga Govortsova of Belarus during their Women's Singles First Round match at the Olympic Green Tennis Court during day 2 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 10, 2008 — Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Serena Williams has secured her spot as one of the best tennis players in history and earned four Olympic gold medals during her four appearances at the games, both as a solo player and a doubles champion with her sister Venus.

13 of 15

Venus Williams (USA)

Venus Williams of the United States serves as she plays with partner Rajeev Ram during the mixed doubles gold medal match against Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games — Dawn Airey/Getty Images

Venus Williams has earned herself the title of most-decorated tennis player in the history of the Olympics. With her four golds and one silver throughout her five Olympic appearances she, alongside her sister Serena, has etched her name into Olympic history.

12 of 15

Diana Taurasi (USA)

Diana Taurasi #12 of United States lays up a shot against China during the Women's Basketball Preliminary Round match on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games — Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Basketball superstar Diana Taurasi currently holds the U.S. basketball record after winning five consecutive gold medals during her Olympic stint. "It takes a lot of sacrifice. It takes a lot of heart. There's something about putting this jersey on that brings the best out of you as a teammate, as an athlete, as a coach. And those things aren't easy. And we're going to try to do it again," Taurasi told NBC Boston.

11 of 15

Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA)

Florence Griffith-Joyner, United States Olympic Gold medalist winning 100 meter dash. — Bettmann/Getty

Florence Griffith-Joyner went from bank teller to Olympic champion, finishing her Olympic career with three gold and two silver medals and capturing the title of fastest woman in the world after smashing the 200 meter record with a time of 10.49 seconds — a record that stands today.

10 of 15

Nadia Comǎneci (Romania)

Nadia Comaneci of Romania performs during the Women's Balance Beam event on 25 October 1978 during the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the Palace of Sports, Strasbourg, France. — Tony Duffy/Allsport/Getty Images

Nadia Comǎneci astonished the world when, at only 14, she scored a perfect 10 across the board leaving judges shocked and the scoreboard unable to fit the digits in. This not only led to a new age of Olympic gymnastics but led Comǎneci to win five gold, three silver and one bronze during her Olympic run.

09 of 15

Dara Torres (USA)

Dara Torres of the USA competes in the Women's 100 meter butterfly swimming semifinal of the 2000 Olympic Games on September 16, 2000 — David Madison/Getty Images

Dara Torres completed the longest Olympic swimming career of any Olympian, tallying four gold, four silver and four bronze medals between 1984 to 2008. Torres retired three times from the sport, returning two times and winning medals in both comebacks, and she is one of three Olympians to win four or more of each medal type in history.

08 of 15

Isabell Werth (Germany)

Isabell Werth of Team Germany riding Bella Rose 2 competes in the Dressage Individual Grand Prix Qualifier — Julian Finney/Getty Images

Germany's Isabell Werth has taken home a plethora of medals during her stint as an Olympic competitor, collecting at least one gold in each Olympics from 1992 to 2020. Werth won a total of seven gold and five silver medals, making her one of the most decorated riders in equestrian dressage.

07 of 15

Katie Ledecky (USA)

In her young career, Katie Ledecky has already cemented herself as one of the top swimmers of all time. She burst onto the scene in 2012 and has since earned seven gold and three silver medals as she prepares to earn more in the upcoming games to attempt to pass up her idol and medal rival, Michael Phelps, in the record books.

06 of 15

Simone Biles (USA)

Simone Biles of the United States performs on the beam during the Gymnastics Rio Gala on Day 12 of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games — Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Simone Biles is not only one of the greatest gymnasts of all time but one of the greatest Olympians ever, racking up four gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Biles developed her own groundbreaking floor routine and hopes to return to the top in the 2024 games.

05 of 15

Sawao Kato (Japan)

Japan gymnast Sawao Kato performs,on September 07, 1972 at Munich during the parallel bars event of the Summer Olympic games. — STF/AFP via Getty Images

Sawao Kato dominated the late 1960s and early 1970s, taking home eight gold, three silver and one bronze medal during his Olympic run. Kato still holds the most medals won by a male gymnast and is remembered as one of the all-time greats in the sport.

04 of 15

Carl Lewis (USA)

American athlete Carl Lewis accelerates down the runway as he competes in the Men's Long Jump event at the XXIII Olympic Summer Games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, August 6, 1984. — David Cannon/Allsport/Getty Images

Carl Lewis stormed onto the Olympic map when he won four gold medals in 1984 — and that was only the start, as Lewis would finish his career winning nine gold medals and one silver. Lewis is one of only four Olympians to win nine gold medals.

03 of 15

Allyson Felix (USA)

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 07: Allyson Felix of Team United States competes in the Women' s 4 x 400m Relay Final on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 07, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) — Ryan Pierse/Getty

Allyson Felix came onto the Olympic scene at just 19 years old and ended her career as the most decorated track and field athlete of all time, winning seven gold, three silver and one bronze medal during her career. Felix passed former medal record holder Carl Lewis to achieve the title.

02 of 15

Usain Bolt (Jamaica)

Usain Bolt of Jamaica reacts as he wins the Olympic mens 200m final in a new world record time in the Birds Nest stadium, Beijing on August 20th 2008 in Beijing, China — Tom Jenkins/Getty Images

Going into the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt etched his name into Olympic immortality as the fastest man on the planet, breaking records and collecting gold medals. Bolt's personality off the track made him a cultural phenomenon and a household name. Bolt earned a total of eight gold medals in his career (his ninth was rescinded after a relay teammate was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs) with a number of wins in the world championships.

01 of 15

Michael Phelps (USA)

Michael Phelps of the United States competes in the final heat for the Men's 100 Meter Butterfly during Day Seven of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials — Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Swimmer Michael Phelps is widely considered the greatest Olympic athlete to ever grace the games. Phelps earned a total of 23 gold, three silver and two bronze medals, making him the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time.