Every four years, the world is captivated by incredible athletes from across the globe competing in the Winter Olympics. Some Olympians come into the competition hoping to find their way onto the podium against the odds, while others arrive feeling as though they will need an extra suitcase to bring home all their medals.
In each iteration of the Winter Olympics, at least one athlete has taken home multiple medals – in some cases as many as five. These top medalists have marked their place in Olympic history by being the most dominant athletes on skates or skis, earning a lifetime of fame and bringing glory to their countries. (These are the top Winter Olympics medal winners of all time.)
To determine the top medal winner of every Winter Olympics, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from Olympedia. In the case of ties, we selected the athlete that won the most golds as a tie-breaker. For Olympic Games in which two athletes won the exact same number and type of medal, both were included.
Certain sports lend themselves to having multi-medalist athletes, as disciplines like speed skating and cross country skiing offer competitions at a number of distances, as well as team and individual events. Of the 26 athletes on the list, there are 13 speed skaters, nine cross country skiers, two alpine skiers, one biathlete, and one ski jumper.
As you might expect, the countries that produced the most top medalists from the Winter Olympics tend to be places with colder weather. Norway, Finland, and the former Soviet Union all have multiple athletes on this list, as does the U.S., with three.
Only one athlete has ever brought home the most medals in multiple different Winter Olympics – Norwegian cross country skier Marit Bjørgen. She racked up 15 total medals, including eight golds, in her five trips to the Winter Olympics. This makes her not just the most decorated Winter Olympian ever, but one of the 40 most successful athletes of the 21st century.
1924: Chamonix, France
> Top medal winner Clas Thunberg, Finland
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
1928: St. Moritz, Switzerland
> Top medal winner Bernt Evensen, Norway
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
1932: Lake Placid, New York
> Top medal winner Irving Jaffee, USA (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 2
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold
1932: Lake Placid, New York
> Top medal winner Jack Shea, USA (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 2
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold
1936: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
> Top medal winner Ivar Ballangrud, Norway
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver
1948: St. Moritz, Switzerland
> Top medal winner Henri Oreiller, France
> Discipline: Alpine Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 1 bronze
1952: Oslo, Norway
> Top medal winner Hjalmar Andersen, Norway
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
1956: Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
> Top medal winner Sixten Jernberg, Sweden
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
1960: Squaw Valley, California
> Top medal winner Veikko Hakulinen, Finland
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
1964: Innsbruck, Austria
> Top medal winner Lidiya Skoblikova, Soviet Union
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold
1968: Grenoble, France
> Top medal winner Jean-Claude Killy, France
> Discipline: Alpine Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
1972: Sapporo, Japan
> Top medal winner Galina Kulakova, Soviet Union (tied)
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
1972: Sapporo, Japan
> Top medal winner Ard Schenk, Netherlands (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
1976: Innsbruck, Austria
> Top medal winner Tatyana Averina-Barabash, Soviet Union
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 2 bronze
1980: Lake Placid, New York
> Top medal winner Eric Heiden, USA
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 5 gold
1984: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
> Top medal winner Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi-Hämäläinen, Finland
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 bronze
1988: Calgary, Canada
> Top medal winner Yvonne van Gennip, Netherlands (tied)
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
1988: Calgary, Canada
> Top medal winner Matti Nykänen, Finland (tied)
> Discipline: Ski Jumping
> Total medals 3
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold
1992: Albertville, France
> Top medal winner Lyubov Yegorova, Unified Team
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 2 silver
1994: Lillehammer, Norway
> Top medal winner Manuela Di Centa, Italy
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze
1998: Nagano, Japan
> Top medal winner Larisa Lazutina, Russian Federation
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
2002: Salt Lake City, Utah
> Top medal winner Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norway
> Discipline: Biathlon
> Total medals 4
> Medal breakdown: 4 gold
2006: Turin, Italy
> Top medal winner Cindy Klassen, Canada
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
2010: Vancouver, Canada
> Top medal winner Marit Bjørgen, Norway
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
2014: Sochi, Russia
> Top medal winner Ireen Wüst, Netherlands
> Discipline: Speed Skating
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 3 silver
2018: Pyeongchang, South Korea
> Top medal winner Marit Bjørgen, Norway
> Discipline: Cross Country Skiing
> Total medals 5
> Medal breakdown: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze