Michael Phelps
Most Olympic medals won by any athlete (23 gold)
Michael Phelps finished his career with 28 Olympic medals across five Games from 2000 to 2016: 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze. The medal count passed the old record of 18, held by gymnast Larisa Latynina.
Phelps competed at five Olympic Games: Sydney 2000, when he was just 15, then Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016. He came away with 28 medals in total, of which 23 were gold, three silver, and two bronze. Most came in individual medley, butterfly, and freestyle events, as well as relays.
Before him, the record for most medals belonged to Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won 18 across 1956, 1960, and 1964. Phelps passed that total at the 2012 London Games. His 23 golds are also the most of any Olympian, nearly double the next best.
Medal counts can vary slightly across sources only when later disqualifications or reallocations happen, which is why official databases such as Olympedia are used as a reference. The International Olympic Committee, rather than any national body, keeps the final medal tables. All of his medals come from the Summer Games. Phelps also retired with the most individual Olympic gold medals, a separate count from his relay golds, and the 2016 Rio Games were his final appearance.