Johnny Weissmuller
1924 Paris Games, 1928 Amsterdam Games
Swimming and water polo
Medal count: Five golds, one bronze
Weissmuller swam to gold in the 100 and 400-meter freestyle races, as well as the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in 1924, on top of a bronze medal as part of the water polo team. He repeated the gold finishes in the 100 and 4×200 in 1928, then later had a successful film career, starring as Tarzan 12 times.
Don Schollander
1964 Tokyo Games, 1968 Mexico City Games
Swimming
Medal count: Five golds, two silver
At 18, freestyle swimmer Schollander won golds in the 100 meter, 400 meter, 4×100 and 4×200. Four years later, he won another gold as part of the 4×200 team, and came in second in the 200 meter in its first year as an Olympic event. Between those Games, he won three NCAA championships at Yale, where he was a member of the Skull and Bones society alongside George W. Bush.
Mark Spitz
1968 Mexico City Games, 1972 Munich Games
Swimming
Medal count: Nine golds, one silver, one bronze
Spitz won four medals, including two gold, at the 1968 games, but it was his performance four years later that made him one of the most successful Olympians of all time. He won gold in all seven events in which he participated, setting world records with each victory. The seven golds in one Olympiad was a record until Michael Phelps won eight in 2008.
John Naber
1976 Montreal Games
Swimming
Medal count: Four golds, one silver
Of the five events he participated in at the 1976 games, Naber won four in world record time. He also became the first man to swim the 200-meter backstroke in under two minutes.
Tim Shaw
1976 Montreal Games, 1984 Los Angeles Games
Swimming and water polo
Medal count: Two silver
Shaw swam for a silver in the 400-meter freestyle in 1976, and returned to the Olympics as a member of the water polo team in 1984. Despite being undefeated, the team placed second, thanks to Yugoslavia scoring more goals over the course of the tournament.
Dara Torres
1984 Los Angeles Games, 1988 Seoul Games, 1992 Barcelona Games, 2000 Sydney Games, 2008 Beijing Games
Swimming
Medal count: Four golds, four silvers, four bronzes
From 1984 to 2008, Torres competed in five Olympiads, winning golds as part of relay teams in ’84, ’92 and 2000. After sitting out 2004, she earned a spot on the 2008 team at age 41, the oldest American to ever do so. She won two relay silvers that year, as well as another in the 50-meter freestyle, losing out on gold by 0.01 seconds.
Matt Biondi
1984 Los Angeles Games, 1988 Seoul Games, 1992 Barcelona Games
Swimming
Medal count: Eight golds, two silvers, one bronze
Biondi’s Olympic career started out with a world record-setting win by the 4×100 freestyle team, but his big moment came in 1988 in Seoul. There, he won individual golds in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle, and was part of the victorious 4×100 freestyle, 4×200 freestyle, and 4×100 medley teams. He returned to the Olympics in 1992 and won two more golds in the 4×100 free and medley races.
Janet Evans
1988 Seoul Games, 1992 Barcelona Games, 1996 Atlanta Games
Swimming
Medal count: Four golds, one silver
Despite her 5-foot, 6-inch frame, which is small for a swimmer, Evans dominated, winning three individual golds in 1988 in the 400-meter medley, 800-meter freestyle, and 400-meter free. She set a world record in the latter event that would remain unbroken for 18 years, and repeated in the 800-meter in 1992. Evans participated in the ’96 games, winning no medals, but was chosen to hand off the Olympic torch to Muhammad Ali, who then lit the Atlanta stadium’s cauldron.
Jenny Thompson
1992 Barcelona Games, 1996 Atlanta Games, 2000 Sydney Games, 2004 Athens Games
Swimming
Medal count: Eight golds, three silvers, one bronze
A successful individual swimmer in the World Championships, Thompson’s Olympic medals were almost all from relay teams. She won two gold in 1992 on the freestyle and medley teams, three more in 1996, and another three in 2000. After enrolling in Columbia med school, she returned to the team for the 2004 games, helping the 4×100 free and medley teams to win silver. Her individual medals were a silver in the 100-meter freestyle in 1992 and a bronze in 2000.
Amanda Beard
1996 Atlanta Games, 2000 Sydney Games, 2004 Athens Games, 2008 Beijing Games
Swimming
Medal count: Two golds, four silvers, one bronze
Beard’s Olympic career began when she was just 14 years old at the ’96 Atlanta games, where she won gold in the 4×100 medley. She added two silvers, becoming the second-youngest swimmer to medal in the Olympics. Beard returned in 2000, winning a bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke, and won three more medals – including a gold in the 200 breaststroke – in 2004.
Brooke Bennett
1996 Atlanta Games, 2000 Sydney Games
Swimming
Medal count: Three golds
Bennett won the 800-meter freestyle in Atlanta in what also happened to be Janet Evans’ last career race. Bennett repeated in 2000 and added another gold in the 400-meter freestyle, though injuries prevented her from returning to the Olympics.
Gary Hall Jr.
1996 Atlanta Games, 2000 Sydney Games, 2004 Athens Games
Swimming
Medal count: five golds, three silvers, two bronzes
The son of a three-time Olympic medal winner, Hall won four of his own in ’96, including golds in the 4×100 freestyle and medley. The U.S. team repeated in the medley in 2000, and Hall won the first of two consecutive golds in the 50-meter freestyle.
Amy Van Dyken
1996 Atlanta Games, 2000 Sydney Games
Swimming
Medal count: Six golds
Van Dyken, who started swimming as a way to combat her asthma, won four events in 1996 – the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly, 4×100-meter freestyle, and 4×100-meter medley – to become the first woman to ever earn four gold medals in a single Olympics. Despite shoulder problems, she won two more golds when the women repeated in the relays at the 2000 games.
Michael Phelps
2000 Sydney Games, 2004 Athens Games, 2008 Beijing Games, 2012 London Games
Swimming
Medal count: 18 golds, two silvers, two bronzes
The most decorated Olympian of all time. He has 18 golds, 11 individual, and went eight-for-eight at the 2008 Beijing games. He won six in 2004 and another four in 2012. He has yet to announce if he will return for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Dana Vollmer
2004 Athens Games, 2012 London Games
Swimming
Medal count: Four golds
Vollmer won her first gold in 2004 in the 4×200 freestyle, failed to make the 2008 squad, then won three more golds in 2012, including in two relays and the 100-meter butterfly.
Aaron Peirsol
2004 Athens Games, 2008 Beijing Games
Swimming
Medal count: Five golds, two silvers
Among Peirsol’s five gold medals were earned in the 100-meter backstroke and 4×100 medley in both 2004 and 2008. He also won gold in the 200-meter backstroke in 2004, earning silvers in the event in 2000 and 2008.
Natalie Coughlin
2004 Athens Games, 2008 Beijing Games, 2012 London Games
Swimming
Medal count: Three golds, four silvers, five bronzes
In 2008, Coughlin became the first woman to defend gold in the 100-meter backstroke. Her six medals that year gave her the record for most by a woman in a single Olympiad. Her only medal in 2012 was a bronze for the 4×100 freestyle relay, but she’s eying a return in 2016.
Ryan Lochte
2004 Athens Games, 2008 Beijing Games, 2012 London Games
Swimming
Medal count: Five golds, three silvers, three bronzes
A three-time winner of the 4×200 freestyle relay, Lochte also has individual golds in the 200-meter backstroke and 400-meter medley. Following his five medals in 2012, he starred in an E! reality show called What Would Ryan Lochte Do? and trademarked his catchphrase, “Jeah.”
Rebecca Soni
2008 Beijing Games, 2012 London Games
Swimming
Medal count: Three golds, three silvers
In the 200-meter backstroke at the 2008 games, Soni won her first gold in an upset of Australia’s Leisel Jones, setting a world record time of 2:20.22. She defended the victory in 2012, and won another gold in the 4×100 medley.
Allison Schmitt
2008 Beijing Games, 2012 London games
Swimming
Medal count: Three golds, one silver, two bronzes
In 2012, Schmitt won individual gold in the 200-meter freestyle as well as the 4×200 free and 4×100 relay events. She also won silver in the 400-meter free, and two relay bronze medals.
Missy Franklin
2012 London Games
Swimming
Medal count: Four golds, one bronze
In her first Olympics, “The Missile” won four gold medals at 17-years-old, setting world records in the 200-meter backstroke and as part of the 4×100 medley team. Look for her to do even better as a 21-year-old in Rio.
Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/
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