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.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #51 - Serena Williams

Serena Williams

USA

Tennis

Overall Ranks

#17 among American Olympians

#5 among Female American Olympians

#1 among Tennis Players

Olympic Results

2000

Doubles - Gold

2008

Doubles - Gold

2012

Doubles - Gold

Singles - Gold

Total

Events - 7

Gold - 4

Serena Jamika Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, and began playing tennis when she was 4 years old. She played in her first professional tournament when she had just turned 16, and upset two of the top 10 players in the world, Mary Pierce and Monica Seles, reaching the top 100 before the end of the year.

In 1999, she won the US Open singles and doubles titles, becoming just the 5th woman in history to do that, and she was still just 17 years old. The next year, she went to Sydney to compete in her first Olympics, but only in the doubles with her sister Venus, as only the top 3 players from each country could qualify for singles.

In the Olympic doubles tournament, the Williams sisters completely dominated, losing only one set in the entire tournament. In the gold medal match, they beat Boogert and Oremans of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-1 to cruise to the gold medal. Venus became the first woman in 76 years to win gold in both tennis events, and Serena had her first gold medal.

Between 2002 and 2003, she won all 4 Grand Slam finals in a row, defeating her sister Venus in the final in each, becoming just the 5th woman ever to hold all 4 titles at once. Late in 2003, she injured her knee, which required surgery, and ended up not qualifying for the 2004 Olympics as a result.

She battles through several other injuries in the ensuing years, but was finally healthy in time for the 2008 Olympics. She was seeded 4th in the singles event, and made it to the quarterfinals with only one set lost, but she lost to Yelena Dementyeva, the #5 seed, in that round, ending her first Olympic singles run a little early.

In the doubles, she and Venus were the #2 seeds, and they lost their very first set, before turning it around and winning the match, then winning the next 2 matches in straight sets. In the semifinal, they lost one set to the Ukrainians, but won the final set 6-1 to advance to the final, which they won 6-2, 6-0 to win their second gold medal as a pair.

By the time 2012 came around, she had reestablished herself as one of the best women's tennis players in the world, and she showed it at the Olympics. She went through the entire singles tournament without losing a set, and only giving up 17 total games in 6 matches, including a 6-1, 6-2 win over world #1 Vika Azarenka in the semifinal, and a 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Maria Sharapova in the gold medal match. It was the most dominant performance in the history of Olympic tennis.

In the doubles tournament, the Williams sisters were almost as dominant, again winning every single match without losing a set, and not a single set went to a tiebreaker, though some of them were a little closer than Serena's singles run, like their 6-4, 6-4 win in the gold medal match. Either way, it was a great performance, and the third gold medal won by the pair at the Olympics.

Between 2014 and 2015, Serena again won all 4 Grand Slam titles in a row making her the first woman ever to achieve the feat twice. She competed once more in the Olympics, in Rio in 2016, but was surprisingly upset in the third round of the singles event, and then even more shockingly knocked out in the first round of the doubles. 

She has not competed in the Olympics since, and took nearly 4 years off from tennis completely before making a return earlier this year. It's unlikely that she will qualify to compete in the Olympics again, but with the 4 gold medals she has already won, and the dominant way that she earned each of them, she has shown that she is one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

 

Football Predictions - 24 Sep thru 28 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

Liberty at Coastal Carolina - Chanticleers by 16.5

Atlanta at Green Bay - Packers by 11

Friday

Army at Temple - Owls by 9

Howard at Rutgers - Scarlet Knights by 8

Navy at UAB - Blazers by 2.5

Northwestern at (5) Indiana - Hoosiers by 12.5

Clemson at California - Bears by 5.5

Saturday

(1) Texas at (14) Tennessee - Volunteers by 11

Illinois at (7) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 25.5

Sam Houston at (11) Texas Tech - Red Raiders by 12

Wake Forest at (16) Louisville - Cardinals by 13.5

Colorado at Baylor - Bears by 18

Bucknell at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 33.5

Virginia Tech at Boston College - Hokies by 21

San Diego State at Toledo - Rockets by 11

Colorado State at UTSA - Roadrunners by 19

UNLV at Akron - Zips by 14

Ball State at Kent State - Golden Flashes by 11

South Alabama at Kentucky - Wildcats by 15.5

Lindenwood at Eastern Michigan - Eagles by 6.5

UCLA at Maryland - Terrapins by 8

(3) Notre Dame at Purdue - Irish by 6.5

Northern Illinois at Georgia State - Panthers by 39.5

Central Arkansas at Florida State - Seminoles by 29

Hawaii at Wyoming - Cowboys by 10.5

Oklahoma at (2) Georgia - Bulldogs by 9

(4) Ole Miss at (21) Florida - Gators by 9.5

(15) Utah at Iowa State - Cyclones by 8.5

(17) Iowa at (18) Michigan - Wolverines by 16.5

TCU at UCF - Knights by 16

William & Mary at Duke - Blue Devils by 28

Boise State at Western Michigan - WMU Broncos by 18

UConn at Miami (OH) - Redhawks by 7

New Mexico at New Mexico State - Lobos by 2.5

Robert Morris at Buffalo - Bulls by 15.5

Stonehill at Ohio - Bobcats by 17.5

Gardner-Webb at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 20.5

(25) Houston at Georgia Southern - Eagles by 5.5

NC Central at East Carolina - Pirates by 24.5

Vanderbilt at Auburn - Tigers by 14.5

Wisconsin at (13) Penn State - Nittany Lions by 29

Nebraska at Michigan State - Spartans by 9.5

South Florida at Bowling Green - Bulls by 18

Delaware at Virginia - Cavaliers by 13.5

Incarnate Word at Texas State - Bobcats by 16.5

Long Island at FIU - Golden Panthers by 23.5

James Madison at Old Dominion - Dukes by 2

Central Michigan at (6) Miami - Hurricanes by 42

Louisiana at Charlotte - 49ers by 6

South Carolina at (8) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 24

Kansas State at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 2.5

Oklahoma State at West Virginia - Mountaineers by 13

Southern Miss at Tulane - Green Wave by 22

Kennesaw State at Arkansas State - Red Wolves by 9.5

Mercyhurst at Western Kentucky - Hilltoppers by 6

Middle Tennessee at Jacksonville State - Gamecocks by 14

(23) Texas A&M at (10) LSU - Tigers by 25.5

(20) Oregon at (12) USC - Trojans by 12

Arizona at Washington State - Cougars by 3

Troy at Utah State - Trojans by 6

Houston Christian at North Texas - Mean Green by 18

App State at NC State - Wolfpack by 7.5

(19) Missouri at (24) Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 25

Tulsa at Arkansas - Golden Hurricane by 16

FAU at UL Monroe - Warhawks by 4.5

Missouri State at (22) SMU - Mustangs by 31

Oregon State at UTEP - Miners by 7.5

UMass at Sacramento State - Minutemen by 4

Rice at Fresno State - Bulldogs by 16.5

Georgia Tech at Stanford - Cardinal by 3

Air Force at Nevada - Falcons by 3.5

Minnesota at Washington - Gophers by 0.5

Sunday

LA Chargers at Buffalo - Bills by 26.5

Carolina at Cleveland - Panthers by 6.5

NY Jets at Detroit - Lions by 12

Houston at Indianapolis - Texans by 1

Kansas City at Miami - Chiefs by 20.5

Tennessee at NY Giants - Giants by 15

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh - Bengals by 10

Seattle at Washington - Seahawks by 24.5

New England at Jacksonville - Patriots by 8.5

Arizona at San Francisco - 49ers by 21.5

Minnesota at Tampa Bay - Vikings by 15.5

Baltimore vs. Dallas - Ravens by 6

Las Vegas at New Orleans - Saints by 10

LA Rams at Denver - Rams by 6

Monday

Philadelphia at Chicago - Bears by 16

Results

NCAA: 58-17 (.773) 215-45 overall (.827)

Upsets: 2-11 (.154) 7-23 overall (.233)

NFL: 7-9 (.438) 16-16 overall (.500)

Upsets: 0-4 (.000) 0-7 overall (.000)

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #52 - Mariya Gorokhovskaya

Mariya Gorokhovskaya

USSR

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#12 among Gymnasts

#6 among Female Gymnasts

#6 among Soviet Olympians

#4 among Female Soviet Olympians

Olympic Results

1952

Individual All-Around - Gold

Team - Gold

Team Portable Apparatus - Silver

Floor Exercise - Silver

Vault - Silver

Uneven Bars - Silver

Balance Beam - Silver

Total

Events - 7

Gold - 2

Silver - 5

Mariya Kondratyevna Gorokhovskaya was born on October 17, 1921 in Yevpatoriya, USSR, which is now part of Ukraine. Due to World War II, and the Soviet Union not participating in the Olympics until 1952, she was 30 years old before she made her Olympic debut.

Those Olympics were held in Helsinki, and 6 of the 7 events were held concurrently. In the team event, the Soviet Union finished with the top score in 3 of the 4 sections, and had 7 of the top 9 scorers overall, so they ended up winning the gold medal over Hungary by 4.67 points.

In the individual all-around, Gorokhovskaya ended up with the top overall score, beating Nina Bocharova, her teammate, by 0.84 points to win another gold medal. In the floor exercise, she won the silver medal, coming in only behind Agnes Keleti (#110) of Hungary in that event. 

In the vault, the Soviets had the top 6 overall, and again, Gorokhovskaya came in second and got the silver, .01 points behind Yekaterina Kalinchuk. In the uneven bars, she finished 0.14 points behind Margit Korondi of Hungary to take home yet another silver. In the balance beam, she was beaten by Bocharova by 0.09 points, which earned her a 4th individual silver.

The next day, in the team portable apparatus event, which is basically what we know as rhythmic gymnastics today, the Soviets came in behind Sweden by 1.2 points, meaning that Gorokhovskaya had won her 5th silver medal, which is still the most for any athlete in a single Olympics in history. 

She competed just once more, at the 1954 World Championships, where she won a pair of medals before retiring and becoming a coach. In 1990, she emigrated to Israel, where she coached until she passed away on July 22, 2001 in Tel Aviv. She was the first woman ever to win 7 medals in a single Olympics, and it would be 69 years before her feat was matched. Even though she only competed in the Olympics once, she was so great in that appearance that she is definitely one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #53 - Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Jamaica

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#13 among Track & Field Athletes

#4 among Female Track & Field Athletes

#3 among Jamaican Olympians

#2 among Female Jamaican Olympians

Olympic Results

2008

100m - Gold

2012

100m - Gold

200m - Silver

4x100m Relay - Silver

2016

100m - Bronze

4x100m Relay - Silver

2020

100m - Silver

4x100m Relay - Gold

Total

Events - 11

Gold - 3

Silver - 4

Bronze - 1

Shelly-Ann Fraser was born on December 27, 1986 in Waterhouse, Jamaica, and was a good sprinter from the time she was a small girl. As a young adult, she was somewhat nervous about competing in big competitions, and wasn't super dedicated to training, but after going to the World Championships in 2007 as a relay alternate, she realized that she enjoyed the experience, and became more focused on her craft, and the results were almost immediate.

The next year, she finished second in the Jamaican Olympic trials in the 100m, earning a coveted spot on the team headed to Beijing. Once there, Fraser won each of her 3 heats to advance to the final, along with her two Jamaican teammates. In the final, Sherone Simpson of Jamaica had a slight lead on Fraser early, but Fraser pulled away in the second half to win easily by 0.2 seconds, with Simpson and Kerron Stewart of Jamaica tying for the silver medal, giving Jamaica all 3 medals, and Fraser her first gold in her first Olympic event.

With the top three 100m runners on the team, Jamaica was expected to cruise to victory in the 4x100m relay, and they had the fastest time in the semifinal heat, but in the final, after Fraser had given them the lead on the first leg, they missed the second handoff and were disqualified.

She won the 100m World Championship the next year, becoming just the second woman ever to win the two major titles in back-to-back years. The following year, she was suspended for 6 months for testing positive for oxycodone, which is not performance-enhancing, but required to be disclosed, which she failed to do. She was married in early 2011, and changed her last name to Fraser-Pryce, then spent much of the year recovering from a calf injury. 

Because of the rough couple of years she had endured, it was a bit of a surprise when Fraser-Pryce won both the 100m and the 200m at the Jamaican Olympic trials, earning her spot on the team headed to London. In the 100m, she won both of her heats to get back to the final, and she had the best start in the final, but by the halfway point, Carmelita Jeter of the USA had pulled even, and the two remained tied right through the finish, where Fraser-Pryce was able to win the gold with a lean at the line, triumphing by .03 seconds to become the third woman ever to repeat as 100m champion.

In the 200m, she won her first heat, but came in second to Sanya Richards-Ross of the USA in her semifinal, though both advanced to the final. In the final race, Allyson Felix of the USA took a slight lead by the end of the turn over Jeter, then pulled away down the stretch to win gold, while Fraser-Pryce came from behind to pass Jeter at the finish to end up with a silver medal.

Her final event in London was the 4x100m relay, which was expected to come down to Jamaica and the USA, who had the top five 100m runners between them. Fraser-Pryce gave Jamaica a small lead after her lead-off leg, but on the second leg, Felix pulled away from Simpson, and the USA had a solid lead the rest of the way, beating Jamaica by 0.59 seconds in world record time, giving Fraser-Pryce another silver medal.

She had graduated from college just before the London Olympics, and felt that she was able to focus more fully on her training after that. In 2013, she won all 3 of her events at the World Championship, the first woman ever to do that. She also became the first woman ever to own the Olympic and WC 100m titles at the same time twice. 

In early 2016, she injured her toe, which made running difficult, so she didn't run in many events, but she still was able to qualify for the Olympic team. She was attempting to become the first woman ever to win the 100m three straight times, and she won both of her heats to reach the final, but in the last race, her teammate, Elaine Thompson, got off to a better start and would not be caught, while Fraser-Pryce finished third to take the bronze medal.

She also ran the anchor leg for Jamaica in the 4x100m relay. It was again expected to be a battle between Jamaica and the USA, but the Americans held the lead the entire way, despite Jamaica's efforts to catch up on the middle legs. Fraser-Pryce was behind by a bit when she took the baton, and was unable to catch up, and Jamaica ended up 0.35 seconds behind and took another silver medal in the event.

In 2017, Fraser-Pryce gave birth to her first child via emergency C-section, which took her away from training for a long time, but she started training again 11 weeks after giving birth, and ran in her first meet in Jamaica in May 2018. By 2019, she was back to form, and even won the 100m World Championship, becoming the oldest woman ever to win the event, and the first mother to win it in 24 years.

In early 2021, she ran a new personal best in the 100m, then won the Jamaican Olympic trials in both the 100m and the 200m, despite being 34 years old. She went to Tokyo for her 4th Olympics, where she and Thompson, now Elaine Thompson-Herah, were the favorites in the 100m. Both won their heats to advance to the final, and they were even early, but Thompson-Herah maintained her top speed longer, and Fraser-Pryce finished 0.13 seconds behind to take silver, her fourth straight medal in the event, making her the first athlete ever to win four 100m medals, regardless of gender.

In the 200m, the first half went almost the same as the 100m, with an even start, followed by Thompson-Herah pulling away by the end of the turn. On the straightaway, she pulled away to win in the second-fastest time ever, while Fraser-Pryce was passed twice on the way home, finishing 0.07 seconds short of a medal in 4th place.

Jamaica had swept the medals in the 100m, making them clear favorites in the 4x100m relay. Fraser-Pryce ran the third leg, and Jamaica had the lead through the first half, though just barely ahead of the USA. Fraser-Pryce was also unable to pull away, handing off to Shericka Jackson with a tiny lead, but the USA had a rough handoff, and that enabled Jamaica to finally create some space, and they won by 0.43 seconds, finally getting Fraser-Pryce her first relay gold.

She considered retirement after the Olympics, but decided to keep competing since she had run personal bests in both of her events in 2021, and she made history again in 2022 when she won her 5th 100m World Championship, becoming the first ever to win 5, and the oldest athlete ever to win a track world championship. She suffered a knee injury in 2023, which hampered her training over the next year, but she still qualified for her 5th Olympics.

She went to Paris in 2024 to try for a fifth medal in the 100m, and she got off to a good start, leading early in her first heat, but she injured her hamstring late in the race and finished second, which advanced her to the semifinal, but she was unable to continue and withdrew from the competition.

She competed through the world championship in 2025, after which she retired at age 38. Her longevity was legendary, and she won medals at 4 straight Olympic games, finishing her career with 8 total medals, including the pair of 100m golds she won to kick off her career. She is obviously one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #54 - Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Norway

Biathlon

Overall Ranks

#3 among Norwegian Olympians

#1 among Biathletes

Olympic Results

1998

Sprint - Gold

Relay - Silver

2002

Sprint - Gold

Pursuit - Gold

Individual - Gold

Relay - Gold

2006

Pursuit - Silver

Mass Start - Bronze

Individual - Silver

2010

Individual - Silver

Relay - Gold

2014

Sprint - Gold

Mixed Relay - Gold

Relay - Bronze

Total

Events - 27

Gold - 8

Silver - 4

Bronze - 2

Ole Einar Bjorndalen was born on January 27, 1974 in Drammen, Norway, and left home at 16 to study at a sports academy, where he specialized in cross country skiing and biathlon, eventually shifting his focus completely to biathlon. At age 19, he won 3 gold medals at the Junior World Championships, and that helped him earn a spot on the Olympic team in 1994, just after his 20th birthday.

His first event was the relay, where he took the first leg, and even though he didn't miss a shot, he still was in 10th place at the end of his turn. His teammates were also perfect in shooting, but weren't able to get any higher than 7th place, which is where they finished. He also competed in the individual 20 km and the 10 km sprint, but wasn't close to the top in either, a disappointing start to his Olympic career.

He kept working hard, and by 1997, he won a bronze medal in the pursuit at the World Championships, and again made the Olympic team heading to Nagano in 1998, competing in the same 3 events. His first event that year was the 20 km individual, and he had the fastest skiing time in the event, but he missed 4 shots, which were each assigned a 1-minute penalty, which dropped him to 7th place overall.

Next was the sprint event, which had to be postponed by a day after heavy fog made the shooting impossible. With better conditions the next day, Bjorndalen dominated, with the fastest time at both shooting checkpoints, and no misses, and he ended up winning the race by over a minute, making his first gold medal one of his most dominant.

Norway and Germany were expected to battle for gold in the relay, but Norway got off to a rough start, sitting in 6th place after the first leg. The next two skiers moved them up to 4th, but they were still a minute and 43 seconds behind the Germans when Bjorndalen started his anchor leg. He flew past Russia and Belarus, and made up a lot of ground on Germany, but there just wasn't enough time, and Norway ended up taking the silver medal, 20 seconds behind Germany.

He won several more world championship medals over the next few years, but no individual golds, so what happened in Salt Lake City was a bit of a surprise. He started out by doing a cross-country skiing event, the 30 km. In that event Johann Muhlegg of Spain was far ahead of the field, winning by over 2 minutes, with Bjorndalen leading the rest of the pack heading into the final lap, but he was passed by 4 others before the finish. He originally finished in 6th place, but was moved up to 5th when Muhlegg failed a drug test, meaning that Bjorndalen finished only 13.5 seconds behind the true champion while racing in an event that wasn't even his main sport.

After that, he never skied another Olympic cross-country race, but he was about to make history in the biathlon. He started with the 20 km individual, where he was again the fastest skier in the event. He did miss 2 shots, down from 4 in the previous Olympics, and luckily this time, the two athletes that were within a minute of him on the skiing portion also missed at least 2 shots, so Bjorndalen won gold by 36 seconds over Frank Luck of Germany, who hadn't missed a shot but skied slower.

Next, he attempted to defend his gold medal in the sprint. He was one of the final athletes to start, and Sven Fischer of Germany held the lead for most of the race, but a miss at the final shooting station forced him to ski a penalty loop, and Bjorndalen made it through without a miss, which enabled him to win by 29 seconds, which was almost exactly the time Fischer lost to the penalty loop, giving him his second gold medal of 2002.

The next event was the pursuit, which was being contested for the first time in the Olympics. Skiers started according to their finish in the sprint, so Bjorndalen started with a 29 second lead. He missed two shots during the event, and was only the 6th fastest skier, but his head start was enough that noone was ever able to catch him, and he ended up winning by 43 seconds to become the first biathlete ever to win 3 golds in a single Olympics.

He finished up his Olympics with the relay, where his team was favored. They started out 18 seconds behind Russia after the first leg, but they took the lead early in the second leg, and never gave it up. They led by 21 seconds at the midway point, and by just over a minute when Bjorndalen started the anchor leg, and he was able to race without pushing too hard, bringing home the gold medal by just over 45 seconds. He thus became the only man ever to win ever biathlon event in a single Olympics.

At the 2005 World Championships, he won 4 golds, only missing out in the individual 20 km, which was his first event in Torino in 2006. For the third straight Olympics, he was the fastest skier in the event, but Michael Greis of Germany had missed only one shot, while Bjorndalen missed 2, dropping him behind by 16 seconds and leaving him with the silver medal.

Next was the sprint, which he had won twice in a row, both times without missing a shot, but he was unable to repeat that again. He missed 3 shots this time, and the 3 resulting penalty loops dropped him out of contention, finishing in 11th place, though he was probably fast enough to win if he had shot cleanly.

He started 1:14 behind in the pursuit, but was again the fastest skier in the event, which allowed him to make up a lot of ground, but he was again betrayed by his shooting. He missed 3 shots, and the penalty loops caused him to end up losing by 2.7 seconds, but he still ended up with a silver medal, which was impressive when you consider where he started.

He was again the anchor on the relay team, but his teammates all struggled with their shooting, and Norway was in 10th place by the time he got on the course. He skied the fastest leg of anyone by over 30 seconds, but was only able to move his team up to 5th place by the finish.

After that was an event new to the Olympics, the mass start 15 km race. Bjorndalen led the entire race until the final shooting station, where he missed twice, and the ensuing penalty loops caused him to lose his lead, and he was unable to catch back up before the finish, and he ended up with a bronze medal, 12 seconds behind the winner.

He again won 4 gold medals at the 2009 World Championships, giving him good momentum heading to Vancouver in 2010. The first event that year was the sprint, and the weather got worse throughout the event, and Bjorndalen started near the middle of the event. After 3 missed at the first shooting station, he was basically out of the running, and he finished in 16th place.

This meant that he started the pursuit 1:41 behind the leader, and despite a good race time and only 2 misses, he was only able to move up to 7th by the end of the event. In the 20 km individual, he was the fastest skier in the event for the 4th Olympics in a row, but Emil Hegle Svendsen, also of Norway, missed 1 less shot, and Bjorndalen ended up with a silver medal.

He also competed in the mass start, but with 7 missed shots out of 20, the worst in the competition, he only managed to finish in 26th place. He was assigned to the anchor leg in the relay again, and this time, despite a slow start, Norway was able to take a small lead after 2 legs, which was a virtual tie with Austria when Bjorndalen started. He had a really good ski time, and missed only 2 shots, while his rival missed 4, allowing him to have a comfortable victory by 38 seconds to finish with his only gold of the games.

He returned for another Olympic run in 2014, when he was 40 years old. He started out with the sprint event, where he was in 5th place for most of the race, but thanks to missing only a single shot, he was in position to sprint to the finish with a chance at a medal, and he ended up pulling it off, winning the gold medal by 1.3 seconds, which was his 12 total Olympic medal, which tied him for the most ever for a Winter Olympian at the time.

He took that tiny lead into the pursuit, but he missed 3 total shots over the course of the event, and ended up finishing 4th, just 1.7 seconds away from earning a record-breaking medal. In the individual 20 km, he missed 4 shots, one at each station, and the 4 penalty minutes dropped him from 6th to 33rd place.

He struggled again in the mass start, missing 6 shots, the most in the event, and he finished 21st out of 26 who finished the event. Next was a new event, the mixed relay, with 2 women doing a 6 km leg, followed by 2 men skiing 7.5 km each. Norway was only a second behind when Bjorndalen took off on the third leg, and he gave them a huge lead of 43 seconds, and it was more than enough for the anchor to bring home for another gold, making him the most decorated Winter Olympian ever.

His final event was the relay, where he again took the third leg. The Bo brothers took the first two legs, and had Norway in the lead for the entire first half, and they gave Bjorndalen a 20 second lead. He didn't miss a shot, but his skiing was slower than usual, and by the time he finished, the lead was down to 2 seconds. On the final leg, his teammate missed 4 times, and the Norwegians ended up in 4th place. That would change in 2020, when it was discovered that the Russians had been doping, and Norway was moved up to the bronze medal position, giving Bjorndalen his 14 medal overall.

He tried to make the team again in 2018, but was chosen for the team, so his Olympic career ended after 6 trips to the Olympics. He retired later that year, but by then he was no longer the most decorated Winter Olympian, as Marit Bjorgen had surpassed him by winning her 15th Olympic medal that year. He is known as the King of Biathlon, and it is well-deserved, as he is the greatest Olympic biathlete in history, and one of the greatest Olympians ever.