Who are the most successful athletes and nations in athletics at the Olympic Games?

The United States has won the most medals in athletics in Olympic history, amassing 827 in total [344 gold, 269 silver and 214 bronze]. The USA has topped the athletics medal table at 26 of the 29 Olympic Games to date.

Questions relating to the most successful Olympic athletes are not straight forward to answer. Some athletes are able to compete in relays, while others are not. Sprinters and distance runners are able to compete across a range of disciplines, while most field event athletes specialise in one discipline. The programme of events during the early editions of the Games was different to what it is now (for example, there used to be ‘standing’ high jump, long jump and triple jump, alongside the regular versions of those disciplines). Some statisticians also include performances from the 1906 Intercalated Games in medal tallies.

Finland’s Paavo Nurmi has the most Olympic medals of any track and field athlete, having won 12 medals, nine of them gold. Three of those gold medals, however, were in team events. A further two were in individual cross-country events.

If counting his two titles won at the 1906 Intercalated Games, USA’s Raw Ewry has the most Olympic golds in athletics, having won 10, all of which came in ‘standing’ jumping events between 1900 and 1908.

Counting only disciplines that form part of the current Olympic programme, Allyson Felix has the most medals in total, while fellow US sprinter Carl Lewis has the most golds. Felix has 11 Olympic medals, seven of them gold. Lewis, meanwhile, has 10 Olympic medals, nine of them gold.

Excluding relays, and again counting only disciplines that form part of the current Olympic programme, Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey tops the list with seven medals: five silver and two bronze.

The most Olympic gold medals won in a single individual discpline is four. This record is shared by Carl Lewis [long jump] and Al Oerter [discus].

Source: World Athletics