G.O.A.Ts Of The Summer Olympics Pt.1

Phelps In A Butterfly Event. Original Photo ©Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

The G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time), is a term that you have heard more and more used in sports talk over the past several years. You see television talk shows like Undisputed and First Take use the term seemingly every other day involving Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Such an emphasis is put on mainstream team sports like football and basketball of who the greatest of all time is. The Olympics of course is another sports event that this subject inevitably comes up in.

A problem with G.O.A.Ts of the Olympics is that they often do not stay in pop culture relevance like athletes in main stream sports do. There seems to be a couple reasons for this, with one of the most prominent being the added lineage of a recognizable local team with a logo. The long history of the Olympics as an organized sporting event also plays a role as people who were around at the turn of the century are obviously dwindling. If you can name the gold medal winners from the 1900 Olympics without Wikipedia then you’re the exception.

With being a large variety of sports, naming a single greatest Olympian is not as apparent as when comparing basketball players or quarterbacks. Besides there being a large number of different sports, there are three medals rather than a single championships. There are team events versus individual, does that effect ones place as a G.O.A.T.? Do we take in impact on the sport, country and political climate? Well for this list all of those factors have been considered including degree of dominance and records. This list isn’t an order ranking the G.O.A.Ts as then a comparison on the actual sports has to also take place, which can often be completely subjective. Rather this list is to highlight athletes who are the G.O.A.Ts of their respective sports or eras. The edited goat heads are just for some lighthearted fun, please enjoy.

Kaori Icho: Wrestling (Japan)

Kaori Icho Holding Her Fourth Gold Medal At Rio 2016. Original Photo ©Kyodo. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

Kaori Icho is the only active athlete on this list and is already the most decorated Olympic female wrestler of all time. She has won four gold medals in the same event (in two different weight classes), at four separate Olympic Games (2004–2016). There are only five other athletes to ever win four golds in the same event and Icho is the only female athlete to win gold in an individual event at four consecutive Olympics. Besides winning gold. At. the Olympic Games, she is a ten time World Champion, and had a staggering undefeated record for thirteen years from 2003–2016. For a while she was constantly in contention with fellow Japanese Olympic wrestler Saori Yoshida for the title of best Japanese wrestler. In fact for a long time many Japanese people would seemingly think of Yoshida first when the topic of wrestling came up. However as there careers developed, Kaori Icho would end up not only being the greatest Japanese wrestler but the female G.O.A.T of the sport as well.

Icho took a long hiatus after the 2016 Rio Olympics, but recently came back last year at the age of thirty four. The Emperor’s cup which took place late last month was the first event in Japan with Olympic qualifying implications. Icho made a statement by defeating fellow Olympic champion Risako Kawai in the 57kg final. Kawai came down from her normal weight class of 63kg, where she won the 2016 Olympic Gold in Rio and is ten years younger than Icho. So to say this was an impressive start is an understatement, but nothing less should be expected of Icho. If she can successfully compete at Tokyo 2020 and manage to win, she would be the only athlete to ever with five gold medals in the same event and at one of the oldest ages ever.

Olympic Medal Count: (4 Golds)

• 3 Olympic Gold Medals in Wrestling, 63kg Division (2004, 2008 & 2012).
• 1 Olympic Gold Medal in Wrestling, 58kg Division (2016).

Michael Phelps: Swimming (USA)

Phelps Upon His Retirement, Holding All His Olympic Medals. Original Photo ©Sports Illustrated. Edited By Shotaro Honda Moore.

Michael Phelps needs no introduction to this list. The man served as the Olympic poster child for over a decade. It is undeniable the dominance of his reign as the best swimmer in the world. In. terms of sheer hardware and numbers, there is no comparison. He has twenty three Olympic Golds and twenty eight medals in total. To put that into perspective, the next closest is Larisa Latynina, the iconic Soviet Union Gymnast with eighteen total medals. The medal count of course is overwhelming, but they aren’t the entire story. Phelps has a recorded twenty nine individual world records, the most that is recognized by FINA.

It is one thing to take the sporting world by storm from a position of anonymity, but to do it when it’s expected is completely another thing. Of course no one would expect this level of athletic greatness, but since the age of ten, expectations were high when Phelps set the national record for his age group in the 100m butterfly. Phelps made his rookie Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Olympics at the age of fifteen. He finished fifth in the 200m butterfly, which officially put him on serious notice. That point began his journey to becoming the G.O.A.T.

Olympic Medal Count: (23 Golds, 3 Silvers, 2 Bronze)

• 4 Olympic Gold Medals in the 200m Medley (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016).
• 4 Olympic Gold Medals in the 4x200m Freestyle (2004, 2008, 2012 & 2016).
• 4 Olympic Gold Medals in the 4x100m Medley (2004, 2008, 2012 & 2016).
• 3 Olympic Gold Medals in the 100m Butterfly (2004, 2008 & 2012).
• 3 Olympic Gold Medals in the 200m Butterfly (2004, 2008 & 2016).
• 2 Olympic Gold Medals in the 400m Medley (2004 & 2008).
• 2 Olympic Gold Medals in the 4x100 Freestyle (2008 & 2016).
• 1 Olympic Gold Medal in the 200m Freestyle (2008).
• 1 Olympic Silver Medal in the 200m Butterfly (2012).
• 1 Olympic Silver Medal in the 4x100m Freestyle (2012).
• 1 Olympic Silver Medal in the 100m Butterfly (2016).
• 1 Olympic Bronze Medal in the 200m Freestyle (2004).
• 1 Olympic Bronze Medal in the 4x100m Freestyle (2004).

Carl Lewis: Long Jump & Sprints (USA)

Carl Lewis In The Long Jump At The 1984 Summer Olympics. Original Photo ©Neil Leifer. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

Born in Birmingham Alabama, Carl Lewis was raised into a family of athletes. His parents ran an athletic club that attracted local elite talent. Being around this both helped Carl and his sister Carol excel in the world of athletics. Early into his collegiate career Carl Lewis began drawing comparisons to legendary Olympian Jesse Owens, trying to dominate in the same events. Dominate he did, eventually winning ten Olympic medals in four different events. As time goes on we see a trend towards athletes who specialize in a single discipline as there is a likelihood they cannot compete on a championship level at multiple sports simultaneously. Carl Lewis is one of the exceptions who could consistently compete at the pinnacle of multiple sports.

Despite a successful career in sprints winning the 100m gold twice and 200m gold once, it is his four consecutive gold medals in the long jump, spanning over twelve years (1984- 1996) that cements him on this list. There were allegations towards Lewis about the use of banned stimulants, but these claims were never proven with intent. Many of the stimulants that were found are common within over the counter medicine and are not a steroid.

Olympic Medal Count: (9 Golds & 1 Silver)

• 4 Olympic Gold Medals in Long Jump (1984, 1988, 1992 & 1996).
• 2 Olympic Gold Medals in the 100m Sprint (1984 & 1988).
• 2 Olympic Gold Medals in 4x100m Relay (1984 & 1992).
• 1 Olympic Gold Medals in the 200m Sprint (1984).
• 1 Olympic Silver Medal in the 200m Sprint (1988).

Sir. Chris Hoy: Cycling (Scotland, Representing Great Britain)

Chris Hoy Celebrating After He Wins The Men’s Keirin Finals At The 2008 Beijing Olympics. Original Photo ©Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Asia Pac. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

Chris Hoy is the second most decorated cyclist in Olympic History with seven total medals, behind only Sir Bradley Wiggins a fellow U.K team member. He is however ahead of Wiggins in the gold medal count, having won six, tied for the most ever by a British athlete. This record of six gold medals is shared with another British cyclist Jason Kenny. With so much competition from the same team in the same sport, why is Chris Hoy labeled as the G.O.A.T on this list?

A few factors come into play, first Hoy is the oldest, which is no justifiable reason onto itself, but if you think about the situation around British cycling it makes sense. Since being the eldest of the three, he was one of the cyclists seen as reviving the British cycling team, which for a long time was not competitive. Since his World Championships in 2002, the U.K team has had unparalleled success with Wiggins shortly following Hoy, to Kenny more recently dominating the last two Olympics. His symbol as the resurgence of the U.K’s cycling talent cannot be over looked. Sir. Chris Hoy has also stayed clear of controversies involving performance enhancing drugs in a sport which is riddled with them.

Olympic Medal Count: (6 Golds & 1 Silver)

• 2 Gold Medals in Men’s Keirin (2008 & 2012).
• 2 Gold Medals in the Team Sprint (2008 & 20012).
• 1 Gold Medal in the 1km Time Trial (2004).
• 1 Gold Medal in the Men’s Sprint Event (2008)
• 1 Silver Medal in the Team Sprint (2000).

Nadia Comăneci: Gymnastics (Romania)

Nadia During The 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, Scoring The First Ever Perfect 10. Original Photo ©Neil Leifer. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

In terms of sheer hardware, Nadia Comăneci does not have an overwhelming amount of medals, even compared to other gymnasts. Don’t get it twisted, she has nine Olympic medals, five being gold, but this is nothing unheard of. Nadia is actually 5th all time in medal count for female gymnasts and has half the total medals as Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union. So why does she make this list as the G.O.A.T of female gymnastics at the Olympics? Well firstly she is often credited as one of the gymnasts to help popularize the sport on a global level during the 1970’s and 1980’s. However the real reason is she quite possibly had the single most impressive performance of any individual in gymnastics ever.

At the 1976 Montreal games, Nadia would receive the first ever perfect score of ten at the games. You may think so what, maybe that was just a single biased judge. Well she followed that by scoring six other perfect scores on her way to claiming three gold medals at the games, including the All-Around. Her other scores that weren’t perfect tens were often in the 9.900 range. This is still an amazing feat to this day and she was also just fourteen years old. Some may contest that she isn’t the G.O.A.T, and there are certainly heavy cases for other athletes to be considered. However it is undeniable Nadia is at least in the conversation and for this list she is at the top.

Olympic Medal Count: (5 Golds, 3 Silvers & 1 Bronze)

• 2 Gold Medals in the Balance Beam (1976 & 1980).
• 1 Gold Medal in All-Around (1976).
• 1 Gold Medal in the Uneven Bars (1976).
• 1 Gold Medal in the Floor Exercise (1980).
• 2 Silver Medals in the Team Event (1976 & 1980).
• 1 Silver in the All-Around (1980).
• 1 Bronze in the Floor Exercise (1976).

Jackie Joyner: Heptathlon & Long Jump (USA)

Jackie Joyner Celebrating At A 1985 Competition. Original Photo ©Tony Duffy. Edited By Shotaro Honda Moore.

Often considered the swiss army knife of the Olympics, heptathletes have to be adept at a variety of athletic movements. The word heptathlon, derives from the Greek word hepta meaning seven and athlos meaning feat. The list of events that the heptathlon consists of are: the 100m hurdles, long jump, high jump, 200m, shot put, javelin and the 800m. Without a doubt, one of the best to ever compete in the grueling heptathlon is Jackie Joynner of the United States.

Joyner was a multisport athlete since high school, with her focuses being on predominantly track, basketball and golf. This multi talented athlete would go on to represent UCLA in both basketball and track. Joyner would eventually solely focus on pursuing the Olympics in her fourth year after starting her first three years at the forward position. This would be a wise decision as Joyner would go on to win a silver medal in her Olympic debut in 1984. Joyner would then return for a fifth year at UCLA and start for the basketball team once again.

At the Olympics Joyner would participate in both the heptathlon and long jump event. She would win her first two gold medals in the 1988 Seoul Olympics in both of those events. During the 1988 Olympics she would also set a world record for the most points ever scored by an athlete in the heptathlon with 7291. Her record still stands today as the highest total points scored. However what would set her apart from any other heptathlete is her second gold medal victory in 1992, which makes her the only two time champion. Joyner has also won many other titles and awards throughout her athletic career, including being named “Top Woman Collegiate Athlete of the Past 25 Years”, voted on by NCAA schools and Sports Illustrated dubbing her the greatest female athlete of all time. With such accolades, it seems obvious as to why Joyner is added on this list of Olympic G.O.A.Ts.

Olympic Medal Count: (3 Golds, 1 Silver & 2 Bronze)

• 2 Gold Medals in the Heptathlon (1988 & 1992).
• 1 Gold Medal in Long Jump (1988).
• 1 Silver Medal in Long Jump (1984).
• 2 Bronze Medals in Long Jump (1992 & 1996).

Ray C. Ewery: Standing High Jump, Standing Long Jump & Standing Triple Jump (USA)

Ewery Winning The Standing High Jump At The 1908 London Summer Olympics. Original Photo ©Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

Ray C. Ewery is a most likely a relatively unknown Olympian in the modern day and age. The three events he participated in are no longer even being ran. As you probably have guessed by the name, these jumps were all attempted without a running start. So you may be thinking why would he be on the list with Ewery dominating events that no longer even exist? Well Ewery has an inspiring story along with an incredible list of athletic achievements which allow him to land on this list. Ewery was born in 1873 and contracted Polio from a young age. As a child he couldn't walk and thus would use the assist of a wheelchair to get around. Through hard work and luck, Ewery was able to overcome his illness. By the time he was in university he was able to play American football along with captaining the Track team.

At the turn of the century, the second ever Olympic Games in France was held along with the first appearance of these jumping events. Ewery quickly made a name for himself, winning all three gold medals. The competition level at this game would be rather small, consisting of four to ten athletes. However Ewery would be back at the following 1904 and 1908 Olympic games. With an expanded pool of competitors around twenty five, he was still able to dominate in every single event. His record of eight Olympic gold medals in individual events was the most by any athlete for over one hundred years, until Michael Phelps would claim it on August 15, 2008. So from a polio survivor to holding the record for most individual Olympic golds for a century places Ewery firmly on this list of G.O.A.Ts.

Olympic Medal Count: (8 Golds)

• 3 Gold Medals in Standing Long Jump (1900, 1904 & 1908).
• 3 Gold Medals in Standing High Jump (1900, 1904 & 1908).
• 2 Gold Medals in Standing Triple Jump (1900 & 1904)

*Ewery also won 2 gold medals at the Intercalated Games which was an event ran by the IOC but isn’t recognized as an official Olympic event anymore.

Usain Bolt: Sprints (Jamaica)

Bolt Flexing After A Race At The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Original Photo ©Getty Images. Edited By Shotaro Honda Moore.

Sometimes it seems like success was just simply meant to be, and with a the last name Bolt, it seemed destined Usain would become the fastest man on the planet. Possibly the most famous Olympian ever, competing in one of the most popular events in the Olympics in short distance track. Bolt participated in all the strictly sprint races: the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay. In 2008 is when Bolt would become internationally known for winning both the 100m and 200m. This feat has been accomplished by eight athletes, but Usain is the only one to successfully defend both titles in consecutive games when he first did so in 2012. That alone would catapult him into a class alone, but of course as we would find out four years later, he would do this again. There is no doubt that he is the greatest sprinter of all time, known for his slow starts and long strides that would make his top end speed unmatched. Usain holds the world record in both the 100m (9.58 seconds) and 200m (19.19 seconds), as well as the Olympic 100m (9.63 seconds) and 200m (19.30 seconds) records. This would all be done of course with his big bright smile on his face.

Olympic Medal Count: (8 Golds)

• 3 Gold Medals in the 100m Sprint (2008, 2012 & 2016).
• 3 Gold Meals in the 200m Sprint (2008, 2012 & 2016).
• 2 Gold Medals in the 4x100m Relay (2012 & 2016).

*In 2008, Usain and the Jamaican 4x100m Relay Team won the gold but would later have to surrender the medal due to doping violations of one of the members.

Krisztina Egerszegi: Swimming (Hungary)

Krisztina Egerszegi Waving To Fans Post Race. Original Photo Copyright is Unknown. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

So this one may come with a lot of controversy from those who follow the swimming sport, as Krisztina was more of a specialist than an overall dominant swimmer. Here is the case however for the Hungarian swimmer being the G.O.A.T on this list. First of all, although she may have been a specialist in the backstroke, she also proved to be a capable swimmer in the other disciplines when she won the individual medley in 1992. Krisztina also held multiple Olympic records and world record times, most notably her 200m backstroke time of 2:06.62, which would take seventeen years to break (1991–2008). Despite not being on par with the three USA swimmers of Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin who are all tied with twelve total medals, Krisztina has more individual gold medals than any female swimmer in history with five. Unlike her American contemporaries, Krisztina didn’t have the benefit of having a strong relay team to win additional medals. The biggest accomplishment however might just be her impact on Hungarian sports culture, and is often still the model of a champion that is shown to young Olympic hopefuls. Also her nickname of “Little Mouse”, which is a play on her last name is one of the best nicknames of any of these G.O.A.Ts.

Olympic Medal Count: (5 Golds, 1 Silver & 1 Bronze)

• 3 Gold Medals in the 200m Backstroke (1988, 1992 & 1996),
• 1 Gold Medal in the 100m Backstroke (1992).
• 1 Gold Medal in the 400m Medley (1992).
• 1 Silver Medal in the 100m Backstroke (1988).
• 1 Bronze Medal in the 400m Medley (1996).

Kenenisa Bekele: 5000 Meter & 10,000 Meter(Ethiopia)

Kenenisa Bekele Winning His First Olympic Gold At The 2004 Athens Summer Games. Original Photo ©Victah@Photo Run. Edited by Shotaro Honda Moore.

If asked Kenenisa Bekele wouldn’t be so quick to label himself as the greatest distance runner. He has often alluded to other champions before him, including fellow countryman and competitor Haile Gebrselassie. While there are compelling cases for other runners, in the 5000m and 10,000m events at the Olympics, Kenenisa was able to claim multiple medals in the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics and 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Kenenisa is known for his ability to finish the races with a last minute burst of speed, with exciting finishes being produces. When looking at his accomplishments outside of the Olympics, he is the most successful runner in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships with a total of eleven titles. Not only that but Kenenisa holds the world records in both the 5000m (12:37.35) and the 10,000m (26:17.53). Neither of these records were set at the Olympic Games but they are obviously worthy to note. These are the reasons for Bekele being the final pick on the first part of this list of Olympic G.O.A.Ts.

Olympic Medal Count: (3 Golds & 1 Silver)

• 2 Gold Medals in the 10,000m (2004 & 2008).
• 1 Gold Medal in the 10,000m (2008).
• 1 Silver Medal in the 5000m (2004).

So there you have part one of a three part series of the G.O.A.Ts of the Summer Olympics. Of course many of these decisions can be argued and it would be fantastic to hear if you agree or disagree with these choices. Remember that there will be another two segments released on other athletes from different sports, so some of your favourite athletes will possibly make the list!

If you wish to contact me, you can reach me at shotarohmoore@hotmail.com