Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #44 - Lyudmila Turishcheva

Lyudmila Turishcheva

USSR

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#10 among Gymnasts

#4 among Female Gymnasts

#4 among Soviet Olympians

#2 among Female Soviet Olympians

Olympic Results

1968

Team - Gold

1972

Individual All-Around - Gold

Team - Gold

Floor Exercise - Silver

Vault - Bronze

1976

Individual All-Around - Bronze

Team - Gold

Floor Exercise - Silver

Vault - Silver

Total

Events - 18

Gold - 4

Silver - 3

Bronze - 2

Lyudmila Ivanovna Turishcheva was born on October 7, 1952 in Grozny, USSR, now part of Russia. She began training in gymnastics at age 13, and by the time she was 16, she made the Soviet Olympic team competing in Mexico City.

At the time, the USSR had won 4 straight team gold medals at the Olympics, and 1968 would be no different, although it was they closest they came to losing during their existence. Czechoslovakia had a very strong team, and had actually beaten the USSR at the last world championships, but the Soviets were able to pull off the victory by 0.65 points, and Turishcheva had her first gold medal.

The individual all-around rankings were determined by each athlete's scores in the team event, and Turishcheva was one of the lowest-scoring members of the Soviet team, and only placed 24th in the all-around, and failed to qualify for any of the event finals, so her first Olympics ended with just a single gold medal.

By 1972, things were very different. Turishcheva had won the all-around world championship when she was 17, and was the overall favorite heading to Munich. She, along with Olga Korbut (#50) and Tamara Lazakovich (#106) led the Soviets to their 6th straight gold medal in the team event, this time defeating East Germany by 3.95 points.

As the highest-scoring member of her team, she qualified for the individual all-around, which was obvious because she was also the top overall qualifier, tied with Karin Janz (#103). Only Lazakovich had a higher score in the final round, but she was too far behind to catch up, and Turishcheva ended up as the individual gold medalist.

She qualified for all 4 individual event finals, and was the top qualifier in the floor exercise, but even after a 9.8 in the final, she was passed by Korbut and dropped down to the silver medal. She was also the top qualifier in the vault, but only scored a 9.6 in the final, which dropped her to bronze medal placement.

She was the #4 qualifier in the uneven bars, and scored a 9.8 in the final, but that wasn't enough to move up, and she stayed in 4th place. She dropped from 4th to 5th in the balance beam after a 9.4 in the final routine. Overall, she won 4 medals, including the biggest one of all, the all-around, but I'm sure she expected a little more.

She repeated as world all-around champion in 1974, and at that point was undefeated in the all-around in the decade. The competition started to get tougher the next year, though, and she only came in 4th in the European championship in 1975, though she was still considered one of the Olympic favorites in 1976 in Montreal.

That year, she helped the Soviets with their 7th team gold medal in a row, this time beating Romania by 3.2 points to come out on top. She was the #2 qualifier in the all-around, behind Nadia Comaneci, but her teammate, Nelli Kim, slipped ahead of her in the final round, dropping Turishcheva down to the bronze medal.

She qualified for 3 of the individual finals, but not the uneven bars. She was again the top qualifier in the floor exercise, but was again the victim of a teammate's great performance in the final, as Kim scored a perfect 10 to leapfrog her, leaving her with the silver in the event once again.

She was the #2 qualifier in the vault, with Kim starting ahead of her, and even a 9.85 in the final wasn't enough, as Kim scored a 9.95 to take another gold, while Turishcheva took another silver. She was the 4th qualifier in the balance beam, but everyone ahead of her was nearly perfect, and she was left without a medal in the event again.

She retired after the 1976 Olympics, and married Soviet sprinter Valery Borzov, who had 5 Olympic medals himself, two of them gold. She spent many years coaching and judging gymnastics, including coaching the Soviet Olympic team for many years. Though her first Olympics only earned her a single team medal, she later won 8 more, including a gold and a bronze in the all-around, making her one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #45 - Don Schollander

Don Schollander

USA

Swimming

Overall Ranks

#14 among American Olympians

#10 among Male American Olympians

#5 among Swimmers

#4 among Male Swimmers

Olympic Results

1964

100m Freestyle - Gold

400m Freestyle - Gold

4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold

4x200m Freestyle Relay - Gold

1968

200m Freestyle - Silver

4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold*

4x200m Freestyle Relay - Gold

4x100m Medley Relay - Gold*

Total

Events - 8

Gold - 7*

Silver - 1

*Medals weren't awarded to swimmers who only competed in heats of relays at the time

Donald Arthur Schollander was born on April 30, 1946 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his uncle taught him to swim, before the family moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon. He originally wanted to play football, but was too small to make the team, so he joined the swim team instead, winning the state championship as a freshman.

When he was 18, he qualified for the American Olympic team in 4 events. His first event was the 100m Freestyle, and he was considered one of the favorites despite his age. He won both of his heats to advance to the final, where fellow American Mike Austin led at the midway point. Schollander took the lead right after the turn, then gave himself a solid lead before he was nearly caught by Bobby McGregor of Great Britain at the end. Schollander still ended up winning by 0.1 seconds, and his time was also a new Olympic record.

His next event was the 4x100m freestyle relay, which was being contested for the first time in the Olympics, and the Americans were big favorites. Steve Clark started them out by tying the world record on the first leg, and by the time Schollander jumped in on the anchor leg, their lead was 4.6 seconds, and Schollander only needed to swim a decent time to win, which he did, while the team set a new world record in the event.

Up next was the 400m, where he had recently broken the world record, so he was again favored to win. He actually trailed by 0.1 seconds after the first 100m, but pulled ahead slightly by the halfway point. He was still slightly ahead at the 300m mark, but then he turned on the jets, and by the end of the race, he had won by 2.7 seconds, and set another world record.

His final event was the 4x200m freestyle relay, where there was no doubt that the Americans would win. They were ahead by a full second after the first leg, then 3.5 seconds at the midway point. The lead was nearly 5 seconds before Schollander entered the pool on the anchor leg, and he extended the lead to 7.2 seconds by the end, destroying the old world record. Previously, no team had ever beaten 8 minutes in the event, but the Americans new record was 7:52.1. Schollander also became the first swimmer ever to win 4 golds in the same Olympics.

He wasn't able to train quite as much in the ensuing years, as he came down with mononucleosis, and later the Asian flu, which sapped his energy somewhat. He still made the Olympic team for 1968, where he would again compete in 4 events. His first was the 4x100m freestyle relay, where he swam anchor in the heats, giving America the best time of the round, before being replaced in the final, where America won easily. At the time, you weren't awarded a medal if you only competed in the heats, so he wasn't given a gold medal, but under today's rules, it would have been his 5th gold medal.

Next was the 4x200m freestyle relay, he was chosen to swim the anchor leg in the final. They were slightly behind East Germany after the first leg, but had pulled far ahead at the midway point. Mark Spitz kept the lead at 1.7 seconds before giving it to Schollander, who also kept the lead, giving America the gold by 1.4 seconds.

His next event was the 200m freestyle, which was his best event, but had not been contested in the Olympics before. He had set the world record 9 times over the past few years, most recently at the Olympic trials, so he was expected to win easily. Mike Wenden of Australia took a lead of 0.7 seconds in the first half of the race, then Schollander closed the gap somewhat during the next section, but Wenden closed it out down the stretch, upsetting Schollander by 0.6 seconds and setting a new Olympic record, while Schollander won his first-ever silver.

His final event was the 4x100m medley relay, where he again swam only in the initial heat. He swam the anchor leg, and the Americans had the best time, and then they went on to win gold by more than 2 seconds in the final leg with a different team of swimmers, meaning Schollander wasn't awarded a gold because of the old rules.

He retired after the 1968 Olympics, having already been inducted into the Hall of Fame 3 years earlier. He later wrote a couple of books about swimming, and eventually started a real estate development company. In his Olympic career, he swam in 8 events, and was only beaten once. Being the first swimmer to win 4 golds was huge, and helped make him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #46 - Ian Thorpe

Ian Thorpe

Australia

Swimming

Overall Ranks

#6 among Swimmers

#5 among Male Swimmers

#1 among Australian Olympians

Olympic Results

2000

200m Freestyle - Silver

400m Freestyle - Gold

4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold

4x200m Freestyle Relay - Gold

4x100m Medley Relay - Silver

2004

100m Freestyle - Bronze

200m Freestyle - Gold

400m Freestyle - Gold

4x200m Freestyle Relay - Silver

Total

Events - 10

Gold - 5

Silver - 3

Bronze - 1

Ian James Thorpe was born on October 13, 1982 in Milperra, Australia, and began swimming at age 5. By the time he was 13, he was winning youth championships and trying out for the Olympic team, which didn't happen at that point, but it gave him good experience. 2 years later, at age 15, he won the 400m freestyle at the World Championships, and expectations were huge for his first Olympics at home in Sydney.

He was just 17 in his first Olympic appearance, but he was also the favorite, as the defending world champion in the 400m. He had the fastest time in the heats to advance to the final, where he took the lead by more than a second at the first turn, and kept extending his lead throughout the race, which he won in world record time, nearly 3 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, to start off his Olympic career with a gold medal.

He swam in the final of the 4x100m Freestyle relay that same night, and the USA was the favorite, as they nearly always won this race, but the Aussies were expected to challenge them. Michael Klim of Australia broke the world record in the first leg, but in both the second and third legs, the USA caught up by the midpoint, then lost the lead to Australia before the end. Thorpe swam the anchor leg, starting with a lead of only 0.25 seconds, which Gary Hall Jr quickly overcame, but Thorpe chased him down in the final stretch and won the race by 0.19 seconds, again in world record time.

His third event was the 200m freestyle, where he was the world record holder, but in the semifinal round, Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands broke his world record. Thorpe nearly matched it in his semi a few minutes later, falling 0.02 seconds short, and they were set for a showdown in the final. Three swimmers broke away early in the final, and Thorpe was in third but only down by 0.06 seconds at the first turn, then closed it to 0.05 seconds at the halfway point, and by the final turn, he and Hoogenband were tied, but Hoogenband turned it up on the homestretch, and finished in a tie with his earlier world record, while Thorpe ended up with the silver medal, 0.48 seconds behind.

Next up was the 4x200m freestyle relay, where Thorpe swam leadoff in the final. He pretty much put the race out of reach on his own, giving his team a lead of 3.5 seconds after the first leg, and they were never challenged, beating the USA by 5.59 seconds and setting yet another world record in the process, earning Thorpe his third gold of the games.

Thorpe also swam the freestyle leg in the heats of the 4x100m medley relay, which they won to advance to the final, but he was replaced by Klim in the final, where the Australians lost by 1.54 seconds to the Americans, leaving Thorpe with a second silver to finish off his first Olympic games.

The next year, he won 6 gold medals at the World Championships, 4 of them coming in world record time. He switched coaches in 2002, then won 5 medals at the 2003 World Championships, but only 3 of them were gold, and none of them were world records. He was still among the best in the world, but appeared to have fallen off somewhat.

He was still considered the top 400m swimmer in the world heading into the 2004 Olympics, but he false started at the Olympic trials, meaning he wouldn't get to compete, but one of the other swimmers gave up his spot to allow Thorpe to swim the event in Athens. In the Olympic final, Grant Hackett of Australia and Klete Keller of the USA both held the lead over Thorpe during the first half of the race, but by the midway point, Thorpe had pulled ahead of them both, and he kept the lead the rest of the way, although Hackett made a strong push toward the end. He won by 0.26 seconds, giving him a repeat gold medal.

In the 4x100m relay, Australia was missing one of their best swimmers due to illness, and another had just returned from injury, so when Thorpe jumped in on the anchor leg, they were in 6th place, and with no chance of winning, he didn't push too hard, keeping that spot at the finish.

The 200m was expected to be a great race, with Thorpe and Hoogenband coming back after their showdown in Sydney, this time with a new challenger named Michael Phelps to worry about. Hoogenband took off at a blistering pace, and was ahead of world record pace up to the final turn, but he was already starting to fade by that point, and Thorpe pulled ahead early in the homestretch and brought it home for a gold medal in Olympic record time, while Phelps nearly caught Hoogenband for the silver.

Next, the Aussies tried to defend their 4x200m freestyle relay gold medal, with Thorpe again swimming the anchor leg. Phelps swam first for the USA, giving them a full second lead, which was up to nearly 1.5 seconds when Thorpe jumped in. He swam the fastest time of the event by more than a second, but it wasn't quite enough, as the USA held on to win by 0.13 seconds, leaving Australia with the silver.

His final event in Athens was the 100m, which was not usually his strongest event. He qualified for the final, but was in a distant 6th place at the turn, but a strong second half helped him move up and narrowly grab the bronze medal, his ninth overall Olympic medal.

Thorpe took a break after the 2004 Olympics, returning late in 2005, but after a couple of disappointing meets, he retired in 2006. He came out of retirement in 2011, hoping to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, but failed to make the team. He planned to keep competing, but a shoulder injury kept him out of major competitions, and by 2014 he had permanently retired.

He only competed in the Olympic Games twice, both when he was 21 years or younger, but he medaled in 9 of his 10 events, with 5 gold medals, all of which broke either world or Olympic records. His career may have been short, but he was great in nearly every race he swam, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #47 - Karin Enke-Kania

Karin Enke-Kania

East Germany

Speed Skating

Overall Ranks

#2 among Speed Skaters

#1 among Female Speed Skaters

#1 among East German Olympians

Olympic Results

1980

500m - Gold

1984

500m - Silver

1000m - Gold

1500m - Gold

3000m - Silver

1988

500m - Bronze

1000m - Silver

1500m - Silver

Total

Events - 10

Gold - 3

Silver - 4

Bronze - 1

Karin Enke was born on June 20, 1961 in Dresden, East Germany, and was a competitive figure skater when she was growing up. After finishing 9th in the European Championships when she was 15, she decided to change sports, becoming a speed skater, and it was a good move.

She went into the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid as a relative unknown, but that changed fast. In the first pair of the 500m event, Ann-Sofie Jarnstrom of Sweden set a new Olympic record of 42.47 seconds, setting a high bar. Enke skated in the second pair, and she finished in 41.78 seconds to break the Olympic record that had only stood for a few minutes. 26 more skaters took their turn on the ice, but none got under 42 seconds, and Enke had a gold medal in her first race.

In the 1000m event, the Olympic record was broken twice as well, also in the first two pairings. Enke, unfortunately, was in the sixth pairing, and though she beat the old Olympic record time, she was more than 2 seconds behind the time to beat, and was sitting in 4th place, 0.2 seconds behind the medals, and that is where she would finish, as none of the remaining 25 skaters beat her time. She was very close to winning two medals in her first Olympics.

By 1984, she was no longer an unknown. She was known as the best female figure skater in the world, and was the favorite to win all 4 Olympic events. She started with the 1500m, where her teammate, Andrea Schone, broke the Olympic record in the first pairing by more than 5 seconds. A couple of skaters got close in the next couple of pairs, but when Enke skated in the 5th pair, her time was ahead of Schone's pace throughout, and by the end, she had broken the world record, and was nearly 2 seconds ahead of Schone. No one else got within 4 seconds of her, and she easily won the gold.

In the 500m, her major challenger was expected to be Christa Rothenburger, also from East Germany, who had set the world record the year before. Rothenburger skated in the 5th pair, and broke Enke's Olympic record, lowering it to 41.02. Enke was in the next pair, and she got off to a slightly slow start, and was unable to make up for it, finishing in 41.28, which ended up being enough for silver, but not the gold she expected.

In the 1000m, her biggest challengers were Schone and Nataliya Petrusyova of the USSR, who was the defending champ and world record holder. Rothenburger set a new Olympic record in the first pair, which Schone then broke in the second pair. Enke was in the third pair, and she was able to drop the Olympic record again, this time by over a second, and nobody else was able to come close as she won another gold medal.

She finished up with the 3000m, where Schone was again a big challenger, along with another East German, Gabi Schonbrunn, who held the world record. Schone was in the first pair, and she set a new Olympic record by more than 7 seconds, making it tough on everyone else. Enke was in the third pair, and she was ahead of pace up to the 600m mark, but was unable to keep it up, and she finished 1.52 seconds behind, but nearly 7 seconds ahead of anyone else who took the ice, which got her her second silver medal in Sarajevo.

Later that year, she married her trainer, Rudolf Kania, and began competing with his surname. In the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, the 500m was the first event. The world record had been passed back and forth between Kania, Rothenburger, and Bonnie Blair over the past several years, and those three were expected to medal, which is exactly what happened. Rothenburger went first among them, and set a new world record, but then Blair broke it again a few minutes later. Kania had her usual slow start, and it was just enough to keep her from catching the others, leaving her with a bronze medal, 0.14 seconds short of the gold.

Next was the 3000m, where the same 3 medalists from the previous Olympics were the favorites, though all 3 were now competing under new surnames, as all 3 had married since the last Olympics. Schone was now Ehrig, and she went out first, setting a new world record to start off the event, while Kania finished more than 6 seconds behind in the same pair after starting too fast to try to destroy the world record. Sange, formerly Schonbrunn, was in the third pair, and finished between the two other East Germans. In the next pair, Yvonne Van Gennip of the Netherlands was behind the pace clear up to the final lap, then had an amazing final lap to pull ahead and take the gold medal in world record time, knocking Kania off the podium and into 4th place, where she finished.

She was the favorite in her best event, the 1000m, a couple of days later. Bonnie Blair set a new Olympic record in the third pair, beating Kania's old time, but Kania went under that in the very next pair to set a new world record. Rothenburger was in the next pair, and she skated ahead of Kania's pace throughout most of the race, but started to fade in the final lap, though she still had enough left to finish just ahead of Kania, winning the event by 0.05 seconds, another new world record, which left Kania with the silver medal.

She was also the favorite in the 1500m, where she held the world record and was the only woman ever to break 2 minutes. Ehrig set a new Olympic record in the second pair, but Kania had a strong final lap in the 4th pairing to lower the Olympic record again. In the next pair, Von Gennip surprised everybody again, beating Kania's time with a very strong second lap, taking her second gold in Calgary, and leaving Kania to take another silver.

Kania retired after those Olympics, finishing her Olympic career with 8 medals in 10 events, with two 4th place finishes in her only medal failures. Allegations came out decades later that she had been doping during her career, particularly during the 1984 Olympics, but drug testing was not as advanced at the time, so it remains only an accusation. She had the most speed skating medals when she retired, though that has now been broken, but she never finished worse than 4th in an Olympic event, making her one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #48 - Otis Harris

Otis Harris

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#15 among American Olympians

#12 among Track & Field Athletes

#11 among Male American Olympians

#9 among American Track & Field Athletes

#9 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#7 among Male American Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

2004

400m - Silver

4x400m Relay - Gold

Total

Events - 2

Gold - 1

Silver - 1

Otis Harris Jr. was born on June 30, 1982 in Edwards, Mississippi, and was a track All-American in high school. He attended the University of South Carolina, where he won a relay gold in the NCAA Championship, along with an individual silver.

He made the US Olympic team that went to Athens in 2004, where he would compete in 2 events. He started with the 400m, where he lost his first heat by 0.02 seconds, then had the exact same result in his semifinal heat, but automatically advanced to the final. In the final, he took an early lead, and held it for more than half the race, before his two American teammates caught him by the end of the final curve. Down the homestretch, Jeremy Wariner had a little more left in the tank, and Harris took the silver medal, 0.16 seconds behind.

The three Americans who swept the 400m medals joined together a few days later in the 4x400m relay. Harris took the leadoff leg, and gave the Americans a lead of almost a full second after his lap was done. Derrick Brew (#80) extended it to 2.5 seconds by the midway point, Wariner made it 3.5 seconds, and by the end, they had won the gold medal by 4.69 seconds, the most dominant relay performance in Olympic history.

Harris retired from competition at the end of the year, first returning to South Carolina to serve as an assistant track coach, then becoming a high school track coach. He has recently moved into law enforcement, serving as courtroom security. Even though his Olympic career was very short, he was part of the most dominant relay team in history, and nearly won an individual gold as well, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #49 - Caeleb Dressel

Caeleb Dressel

USA

Swimming

Overall Ranks

#16 among American Olympians

#12 among Male American Olympians

#7 among Swimmers

#6 among American Swimmers

#6 among Male Swimmers

#5 among Male American Swimmers

Olympic Results

2016

4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold

4x100m Medley Relay - Gold

2020

50m Freestyle - Gold

100m Freestyle - Gold

4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold

100m Butterfly - Gold

4x100m Medley Relay - Gold

2024

4x100m Freestyle Relay - Gold

4x100m Mixed Medley Relay - Gold

4x100m Medley Relay - Silver

Total

Events - 14

Gold - 9

Silver - 1

Caeleb Remel Dressel was born on August 16, 1996 in Green Cove Springs, Florida, into a family of swimmers. He learned to swim at age 4, and by age 8 was swimming competitively while training daily. He competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials when he was just 15 years old, but wasn't close to making the team, but he made it a goal to get there by 2016.

The following year, he earned 6 medals at the World Junior Championships, then began attending the University of Florida the next year, and when the 2016 Olympic Trials came around, he placed 2nd in the 100m freestyle, which earned him a spot on the team, where he was also included on 2 relay teams.

In the 4x100m Freestyle Relay, the French were the favorites, as they were defending world and Olympic champions. In the final, Dressel swam the first leg, and finished just .02 seconds behind the French swimmer to put the USA in a great spot. The next swimmer was Michael Phelps, who gave the Americans a lead of more than a second, which the French were able to cut in half, but never overcome, and the USA ended up winning by 0.61 seconds, earning Dressel his first gold medal.

In the 100m Freestyle, Dressel finished just behind Kyle Chalmers of Australia in his first heat, then came in third in his semifinal, but still qualified through to the final. In that race, he was in third place at the turn, but slowed down a bit on the back half, and ended up finishing in 6th place. He also swam the freestyle anchor leg in the heats of the 4x100m Medley relay, which the USA won to advance to the final, where a new set of swimmers won the gold by over a second, getting Dressel his second gold at just 19 years of age.

In the NCAA Championships the next year, he won 3 golds and 2 silvers, and then won 7 gold medals in the World Championships the same year. He followed that up with 6 golds and 2 silvers in 2019, and he looked primed for a breakthrough in the 2020 Olympics, which ended up being postponed by a year. 

His first event in Tokyo was the 4x100m Freestyle relay. The held him out until the finals to preserve his energy, as he was competing in 6 events, and he swam the first leg of the final, finishing with a lead of 0.26 seconds, which remained steady through the next two legs, before Zach Apple pulled away on the final leg to give the Americans a win by 1.14 seconds, and Dressel his third gold medal.

In the 100m Freestyle, he was a co-favorite with defending champion Kyle Chalmers, and in the semifinal round, he had the second-fastest time, giving him one of the prime lanes for the final. He had a great start, and led by 0.1 seconds at the turn, but Chalmers came charging from third place on the back half, and nearly caught him, but Dressel was slightly too fast for him, winning by 0.06 seconds to set a new Olympic record and win another gold medal.

His next event was the 100m Butterfly, where he put on a show. In the preliminary heat, he tied the Olympic record with a time of 50.39 seconds, they destroyed that in the semifinal with a new record of 49.71 seconds. In the final, he took a huge lead early, leading by 0.65 seconds at the turn, then he cruised to the finish in a time of 49.45 seconds, which was a new world record.

His next event was the final of the mixed 4x100m Medley relay, where he swam the anchor freestyle leg. Ryan Murphy was tied for the lead on the opening leg, but the next two Americans were much slower, and they had fallen to last place by the time Dressel entered the water. He swam the fastest split in the freestyle, but it was only enough to get them up to 5th, as he was 8 seconds behind at the start.

He next swam in the 50m freestyle, where he was the favorite, and he didn't disappoint. He had the best time in each of the first two rounds, and even after a slow reaction time in the final, he took the lead quickly, and pulled away from the field, winning by 0.48 seconds and setting a new Olympic record while also getting his 4th gold medal of the games.

His final event was the 4x100m medley relay, where he swam the third leg, the butterfly. Ryan Murphy again gave the USA the lead after the first leg, but they dropped back to third after the breaststroke, which is when Dressel jumped in. He was the fastest swimmer in his leg by far, and gave a lead of 0.6 seconds to the anchor, who brought home the gold by 0.73 seconds, and set a new world record by more than a full second. It was Dressel's fifth gold medal in Tokyo, and 7th overall.

He won 2 gold medals in the 2022 World Championships before withdrawing from his other events for medical reasons, but he still performed well enough in the Olympic trials to make his third straight Olympic team, competing in 5 events. 

His first event in Paris was again the 4x100m relay, where he swam the anchor leg in the final, but he really wasn't needed. The Americans were second after the first leg, behind China by 0.75 seconds, but they had a lead of nearly half a second at the midway point, which exploded to more than 2 seconds before Dressel entered the water. He swam a very controlled leg to bring home the gold by more than a second over Australia.

Because he was just returning from more than a year off dealing with injuries, people were unsure how he would perform in his first individual event, the 50m freestyle, where he was the defending champ. He made it to the final, but in that race, the two leaders had pulled away from the pack, while the other 6 were all practically even to the end, all finishing within 0.08 seconds of each other, and after it was all reviewed, Dressel ended up being the 6th to touch the wall.

He then swam in the 100m Butterfly, but came in 5th in his semifinal and failed to make the final for the first time in his Olympic career. He then swam in the prelim of the 4x100m mixed medley relay, where the USA won its heat to advance to the final, where they won gold narrowly over China, which earned Dressel his 9th overall gold medal.

His final event was the 4x100m medley relay, where he swam the butterfly third leg in the final. The Americans had never lost this event when they had competed, but they were in 4th place when Dressel entered the pool. He swam the fastest butterfly leg, moving the Americans up to 2nd place, just 0.03 seconds behind France, but the Chinese anchor swam an insanely fast final leg to jump from third to first and beat the Americans by 0.55 seconds, giving Dressel his first-ever silver medal.

Dressel is still actively swimming and hopes to qualify for his 4th Olympic games in 2028 in Los Angeles, but whether he makes that team or not, he has already shown his greatness by winning 9 gold medals in the past decade, which makes him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #50 - Olga Korbut

Olga Korbut

USSR

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#11 among Gymnasts

#5 among Female Gymnasts

#5 among Soviet Olympians

#3 among Female Soviet Olympians

Olympic Results

1972

Team - Gold

Floor Exercise - Gold

Uneven Bars - Silver

Balance Beam - Gold

1976

Team - Gold

Balance Beam - Silver

Total

Events - 12

Gold - 4

Silver - 2

Olga Valentinovna Korbut was born on May 16, 1955 in Hrodna, USSR, which is now part of Belarus. She began training at age 8, and enrolled in a sports school the next year, and by age 14 was participating in national competitions. In 1969, she was the first gymnast ever to complete a backflip followed by a catch on the uneven bars, and she made her Olympic debut in 1972, when she was 17 years old.

The Soviet Union had won the team gold in each of the past 5 Olympics, and they were expected to do it again, with only East Germany considered a threat at all. Korbut was the #2 scorer on the Soviet team, behind Lyidmila Turishcheva, and they won their 6th straight team gold by 3.95 points over the East Germans.

She was the #3 qualifier headed into the individual all-around, and she had the top score on the balance beam during the final, along with the #2 score in floor exercise and vault, but she fell twice during her very difficult uneven bar routine, which dropped her down to 7th place overall, and leaving her without a medal.

She did qualify for all 4 of the individual event finals due to her high scores in the team event. In the floor exercise, she was the #2 qualifier behind Turishcheva, who had a great score of 9.8 in the final, but Korbut put on a great show in her performance, and her score of 9.9 pushed her ahead of her teammate and earned her the gold medal.

She went into the vault final tied for 4th, but was unable to move up, and scored lower than the other 4th place starter, so she ended up in 5th place. In the uneven bars, she started out tied for 2nd, and performed the same routine she tried in the individual all-around, and this time avoided any falls, earning a 9.8, but it wasn't enough to catch Karin Janz of East Germany, who scored a 9.9, and Korbut ended up with a silver.

In the balance beam, she was also the #2 qualifier, behind Tamara Lazakovich (#106), her Soviet teammate. Lazakovich scored a 9.8 in the final, but Korbut again amazed everybody, scoring a 9.9 and passing her teammate to take her second individual gold and third overall of the games.

In the 1974 World Championships, she won medals in all 6 events, with 2 golds and 4 silvers, and was again selected for the Soviet Olympic team in 1976. They won the team event again in Montreal, for the 7th time in a row, with Korbut as the 3rd-highest scorer on the team, as they overcame Nadia Comaneci and Romania by 3.2 points in the end.

She was the #5 qualifier in the individual all-around, and she looked like she might move up and possibly even earn a medal, but a score of 9.5 on the balance beam ended her chances, and she ended up finishing in 5th place, again short of the medals in the all-around. She did, however, qualify for two event finals, the balance beam and uneven bars.

In the uneven bars, she had qualified in second place, but she was competing hurt, and ended up scoring only a 9.4, which dropped her to 5th place at the end. She had also been the #2 qualifier in the balance beam, but a 9.9 in the final wasn't enough to overcome Comaneci's perfect score, and she ended up with a silver medal.

She retired from gymnastics the next year, even though she was only 22 years old, and became a teacher. In 1991, she and her family emigrated to the United States, first living in New Jersey, and finally moving to Atlanta, where she coached gymnastics. Her performances helped usher in the more modern acrobatic style of gymnastics, and her 6 medals helped make her one of the greatest Olympians of all time.