The Olympic Games have evolved with time, but the dominance of winning Olympics medals started in 1896 in Athens. The event has gone through several changes since then. Several different sports have been added to the games, but the countries that started at the top have mostly remained at their place.
Winning a medal at such a big stage is a matter of honor for every sportsperson, and if it's gold, then that person becomes a sporting hero for their country. Here, we a look at the top 10 countries to have won the most number Olympic medals in history.
1. United States (2523)
The USA has been a sports agent for a long. They have set very lofty standards for others to follow. The USA has hosted the Summer Games four times, which is the highest for any country. The First time it was held was in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, Followed by the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
In 1984 Los Angeles was again selected as the Host City. The last time it was held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996. The American's have won the highest number of medals in history (2523)., out of which 1022 are gold medals.
Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps with 28 Olympic medals ( 23 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), is the most successful sportsperson ever to grace the Olympics.
2. Soviet Union (1556)
The Soviet Union first participated in the Summer Games in 1952. Despite their success at the Olympics, they have only hosted the event once in 1980 in Moscow. Now broken away into several independent nations, the soviet union as a whole has mustered the second-highest number of Olympics medals with 1556 medals.
They have won a whopping 590 gold medals. Legendary Larisa Latynina is the most successful Olympian in their history, winning 18 medals (9 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze).
3. Germany (1346)
Germany has time and again proven its credential in sports, especially with its determination and discipline. Germany has hosted the Olympic Games twice, once in 1936 in Berlin and Munich in 1972. After combining the tally of all the participatory nations, which now represent Germany, Their medal tally stands at 1346.
Out of those 1346, a staggering 428 are the prestigious gold medal. The Germans are among the world's sporting powerhouse, but canoeing, athletics, and equestrianism will be their strongest events, among others, if one wants to choose.
4. France (716)
France has hosted the prestigious event twice in the past. The first one was in 1900, which was held in pairs with 24 participating nations. The second time was also in the French capital city, Back in 1924.
They are all set to host the Summer Games again in 2024. France is currently fourth in Olympics medals with 716, winning 212 gold in the process. They have been the strongest at cycling and fencing.
5. Great Britain (581)
One of the most dominant and versatile nations to feature at the Olympics, Great Britain has hosted the Summer Games Thrice in 1908,1948,2012, all in London. They stand at fifth position in the Olympic medal rankings with 581 medals. They have won 263 gold medals till now.
Bradley Wiggins has won eight Olympics medals, the highest (5 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze). However, Chris Hoy had won seven Olympic medals (6 gold, 1 silver) and is often called the most successful British athlete at the Olympics.
6. Italy (578)
European nation that was part of the 1896 Athens Olympics, Itlay has since developed much and is one of the most successful nations at the Summer Games.
Occupying the sixth position at the ranking, Italians have won 578 Olympic medals, out of which 207 gold. Fencing has been their strongest event at the Olympics.
7. China (546)
The Asian nation made its debut at the Summer Olympics in 1924. Since then, they have become one of the powerhouses at the Olympics. China had also hosted the event once in 2008 when the Olympics were held in the capital city in Beijing.
They have dominated the Olympics in multiple sports in recent years and are only looking to get better. They are seventh in the ranking with 546 Olympic medals, 224 of them being Gold Medals. Diving legend Wu Minxia is their highest medal winner with fatally seven Olympics medals(5 gold, 1 Silver, 1 bronze).
8. Hungary(498)
Like Sweden-Hungary was also one of the nations that participated in the inaugural edition of the modern Olympics held in 1896. The central European nation is currently sitting at the eighth spot in most medals won in history with 498, out of which 175 are gold. Their first-ever Olympics gold medal winner was Alfred Hajos, who won both men's 100m and 1200m freestyle.
9. Australia
A proper multisport nation, Australia has been a major entity at the Olympics. The country has hosted the Olympics games twice, once in 1956 in Melbourne, while the second time was in 2000 in Sydney. The country has mustered 497 Olympic medals ahead of the 2020 edition, out of which 147 are gold medals. Their most successful sport at the Olympics has mostly been swimming.
10. Sweden (495)
Sweden was one of the 10 nations that participated at the inaugural edition of the modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, back in 1896. The Nordic nation also hosted the Olympic games back in 1912 when it was held in the capital city of Stockholm. They currently occupy the 10th spot on the Olympic medals tally with 495 medals, with 147 gold.
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