Great Britain Athletes With Most Medals at Summer Olympics

With the Paris 2024 Olympics less than a week away, we take a look at the most successful Great British summer Olympic medal winners. According to the International Olympic Committee, this list includes athletes who have won at least three Olympic gold medals for GB, and further reminds us of some of Britain’s greatest-ever athletes, alongside some of the most memorable moments in British Olympic history.

So, as a disclaimer, there are a few athletes with more than four medals from the summer Olympics for Team GB, such as Charlotte Dujardin (six), Max Whitlock (six), Duncan Scott (six), but the gold medals are weighted more in the eyes of the IOC.

10 Jack Beresford

Rowing

When talking about Olympic rowing, Jack Beresford is a name that paved the way for Team GB’s glowing years of succession. His Olympic career spanned from 1920-1936, in which he was the first rower to compete at five summer Olympic Games. Beresford has five Olympic medals to his name – two gold and three silver, in which he made such achievements at consecutive Games. After retiring from competitive rowing, Beresford went on to represent the British Olympic Council, where he played a role on the organising committee for the 1948 London Olympics. After his passing in 1977, Beresford’s legacy is still remembered; in 2005, English Heritage placed a Blue Plaque outside his former home in Chiswick, making him one of the first athletes to receive such an honour.

9 Paolo Radmilovic

Water polo & swimming

Paolo Radmilovic was a Welsh water polo player and swimmer whose Olympic career spanned from 1908-1920. In what you wouldn’t see nowadays, Radmilovic participated in both water polo and swimming at the Olympics where, across his 22-year Olympic career, he won four gold medals over three consecutive Games – a record held for Team GB up until 2000. Radmilovic was always a record-breaker; in 1901, aged 15, he became the youngest international water polo player in the sport’s history, and in 1928, he became the first athlete to represent GB at five Olympic Games. His Olympic career ended aged 42, which overall saw him as one of 10 men to win three Olympic gold medals in water polo.

8 Sir Matthew Pinsent

Rowing

A legend in British sporting history, Sir Matthew Pinsent is one of Britain’s most decorated rowers – not just known for his staggering height of 6ft 5. From 1992-2004, Pinsent appeared at four summer Olympic Games, where he won successive gold medals in the Coxless Four and Coxless Pair, featuring the likes of well-known rowing partners Sir Steve Redgrave and James Cracknell. After retiring from competitive rowing post-2004 Athens Olympics, Pinsent has since gone on to have a successful journalism career working for the BBC as a pundit and presenter.

7 Sir Mo Farah

Athletics

Often labelled as one of the greatest long-distance runners of all time, Sir Mo Farah is certainly a fan favourite among British audiences. His accolades see him with four Olympic gold medals to his name, winning his first two in front of a home crowd at the London 2012 Games and the following double at the Rio 2016 Games, in the 10,000m and 5,000m races respectively. After failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Farah retired from competitive running, making his final appearance in 2023.

6 Sir Ben Ainslie

Sailing

Making his living on water, Sir Ben Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. From 1996-2012, Ainslie won a total of five medals – four of which were golds at consecutive Games. His achievements mean he is one of three sailors to win medals at five different Olympic Games. In 2012, Ainslie was an Olympic torchbearer for the London Games, in which he was the first of 8,000 to carry the flames in the UK, and had the honour of carrying the Union Jack flag at the London 2012 closing ceremony.

5 Sir Steve Redgrave

Rowing

Yet another legendary British rower, Sir Steve Redgrave, is the most decorated of them all. Across his 16-year Olympic career, Redgrave won a staggering six medals – one bronze and five consecutive golds from 1984-2000, making him the most successful male rower in Olympic history. Alongside this, Redgrave is the only male to win five Olympic golds in an endurance sport. He held the role of British flag-bearer during two different opening ceremonies, and after retiring in 2000, his role of one of Britain’s greatest-ever athletes was affirmed by ranking 36th in a BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, and in 2011 was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.

4 Dame Laura Kenny

Track cycling

If there’s one thing about British cyclists, it’s that they’re winners: Laura Kenny is just one slice of proof. The most successful British female athlete in Olympic history, Kenny has six medals to her name – five gold and one silver, winning them across a range of team and individual pursuits in track cycling. Her win at Tokyo 2020 made her the first British woman to win consecutive golds at three Games. However, in 2024, she announced her retirement from cycling alongside her fellow cyclist husband, Jason Kenny.

3 Sir Bradley Wiggins

Track & road cycling

While known for his eccentric sideburns and tattoos, Sir Bradley Wiggins is also recognised as the third-most successful Olympic medal holder in British history. With eight medals to his name – five gold, one silver, and two bronze, Wiggins took cycling by storm from 2000-2016. His wins spanned across a range of cycling events from individual and team pursuits to the road time trial. In 2012, Wiggins became the only rider to win both the Tour de France and Olympic Gold in the same year, and went on to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

2 Sir Chris Hoy

Track cycling

Taking the second spot in this top 10 is another cycling legend: Sir Chris Hoy. The popular Scotsman participated in four Olympic Games from 2000-2012, where he won a total of seven medals – six gold and one silver. His medal wins spanned across a range of events: team sprint, keirin, match sprint, and kilo. His final Olympics in 2012 saw him not only claim gold in the team sprint, but obtain a new world record in the velodrome. Between the years 2012 and 2021, he was the most decorated British cyclist and Olympian of all time, until he was overtaken by the top-spot in our list.

1 Sir Jason Kenny

Track cycling

Taking the top spot is celebrated track cyclist Sir Jason Kenny. Further proof of British cyclists’ dominance in the velodrome, Kenny is the holder of nine Olympic medals – seven gold and two silver – across just four Games. Not only does this make him the most decorated medal-holder and holder of the most gold medals in British history, but the most decorated cyclist in Olympic history. Similarly to his wife, Laura Kenny – featuring at four in this list – Kenny announced his retirement earlier this year. He did, however, reveal his new role as men’s podium sprint coach with British Cycling, hoping to help others continue his legacy at Paris 2024.

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