The first international Olympic Games of the modern era were held on April 6, 1896. The games were revived by French pedagogue and historian Pierre de Coubertin. Many Russian athletes, some with more than one gold medal to their credit, have written their names into the history of the Olympic Games.
Gymnast Larisa Latynina is one of the country’s most successful Olympic athletes. She won nine gold, five silver and four bronze medals in the Olympic Games – more than any other Olympic athlete in history.
Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, Nikolai Andrianov (1952-2011) won every title possible and held the Olympic medal record for men until 2008. He took seven gold, five silver and three bronze Olympic medals.
Boris Shakhlin (1932-2008), Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, won seven Olympic gold medals.
Polina Astakhova (1936-2005), Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, won five Olympic gold medals.
Yevgeny Grishin (1931-2005), Merited Master of Sports in Speed Skating, won four Olympic gold medals – in the 500m and 1,500m events in both the 1956 and the 1960 Winter Olympic Games.
Valentin Muratov (1928-2006), Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, won four Olympic gold medals.
Lyubov Yegorova, Merited Master of Sports of the USSR and Russia in Cross-Country Skiing, won the highest number of medals among Russian cross-country skiers. She is a six-time Olympic Champion, three-time World Champion, and 1993 World Cup winner.
Nellie Kim, Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, won four Olympic gold medals.
Skier Larisa Lazutina won five Olympic gold medals in various ski events (1992, 1994, and 1998).
Lidiya Skoblikova, Merited Master of Sports in Speed Skating, won a total of six gold medals in several distances, representing the USSR team at the Olympic Winter Games in 1960 and 1964.
Merited Master of Sports in Cross-Country Skiing, Raisa Smetanina was the first woman in history to win ten Winter Olympic medals, including four golds. She also claimed four golds at the World Championships in 1974, 1982, 1985, and 1991.
Alexander Popov, Merited Master of Sports in Swimming, is one of the greatest sprint freestyle swimmers in history. Popov won the men’s 50m and 100m freestyle competitions in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, and repeated his victories in the 1996 Atlanta Games. He is a multiple World Champion, World Cup winner, and Goodwill Games Champion.
Merited Master of Sports of the USSR in Artistic Gymnastics, Lyudmila Turishcheva won four Olympic gold medals, including the all-around gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, Alexei Nemov won 12 Olympic medals, including four golds.
Merited Master of Sports in Cross-Country Skiing, Galina Kulakova was one of the best short distance skiers. She won four gold medals at the Olympic Games and claimed five golds at the World Championships.
Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, Olga Korbut won four Olympic gold medals.
Fencer Elena Belova, Merited Master of Sports, earned four Olympic gold medals.
Sabreur Viktor Sidyak, Merited Master of Sports, won four Olympic gold medals during his career. He was called the world’s best fencer in 1973.
Merited Master of Sports in Artistic Gymnastics, Vladimir Artyomov won four gold medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Cross-country skier Nikolai Zimyatov, Merited Master of Sports, was the first male to win three gold medals at a single Winter Olympics – in 1980 at Lake Placid. He also won gold at the 30km event at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.
Merited Master of Sports, Alexander Tikhonov, won four gold medals at the Olympic Games and nine gold medals at the World Championships.
Fencer Stanislav Pozdnyakov, Merited Master of Sports, won four Olympic gold medals.
Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Yermakova won four gold medals in Olympic synchronized swimming events. The duo also won gold medals at various World Championships.
Fencer Viktor Krovopuskov, Merited Master of Sports, is a four-time Olympic Champion.
Vladimir Salnikov, Merited Master of Sports in Swimming, won four Olympic gold medals and set 12 world records in the 400m, 800m, and 1,500m freestyle events.
