Since 1980, more than 100 events have been added to the Summer Olympics. This year's Games, which is set to officially start in Tokyo with the opening ceremony on July 23, will feature 339 events across 33 sports. Five new sports—sport climbing, karate, surfing, 3x3 basketball and skateboarding—are set to debut.
But before we take in this year's events, let's take a look back at past Games and see which Olympians have racked up the most medals of all time.
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps leads all Olympians with 28 medals—23 gold, three silver and two bronze. After Phelps, the next closest athletes in medal counts are Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina (18), Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen—the most decorated Winter Olympian—(15) and Soviet Union gymnast Nikolai Andrianov (15).
Not only does Phelps have the most medals of all time, he has also won more individual events (16 medals—13 gold, two silver and one bronze) than any other Olympian. Only 35 athletes in Olympic history—including nine Americans—have 10 or more Olympic medals.
Forde: There Is Still Chlorine in Michael Phelps’s Soul
Phelps, who retired after the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, will be an Olympic spectator at the Tokyo Games for the first time in 25 years as he's turned his focus toward fatherhood and mental health advocacy.
Dating back to 1896 and the first modern Olympics, the United States has collected the most Summer Olympics medals with 2,542. Behind the U.S. is the Soviet Union (1,010), Great Britain (867), Germany (760), France (739), Italy (532), China (546), Sweden (498), Hungary and Australia (495) and Japan (441).
The Tokyo Summer Games will run through Aug. 8. The Paralympics will be held from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.
More Olympics Coverage:
• The GOAT's Greatness Is Still to Come
• In the Pool, Caeleb Dressel Is the Ultimate Spectacle
• Cat Osterman Brings More Than Just Leadership to Team USA
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics officially began Friday with the Opening Ceremony, which means thousands of athletes from around the world have gathered for a chance to compete among the best at their sport.
The United States has dominated the total medal count with Summer and Winter Games, leading the world with 3,080 total medals before the Beijing Olympics, including a world-best 1,220 gold medals. American swimmer Michael Phelps has the most individual medals with 28, including 23 goal medals, which is also a record.
As the 2022 Winter Games, we’re taking a look at the most decorated individual Olympians of all time, per Olympedia.
AP Photo/Lee Jin-man
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 23
Silver: 3
Bronze: 2
AP Photo
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 9
Silver: 5
Bronze: 4
Martti Kainulainen/Lehtikuva via AP
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Gold: 8
Silver: 4
Bronze: 3
Tony Duffy/Getty Images
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 7
Silver: 5
Bronze: 3
Sportphoto/ Christopher Neu/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Sport: Biathlon
Gold: 8
Silver: 4
Bronze: 1
AP Photo
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 7
Silver: 4
Bronze: 2
(pictured left) AFP via Getty Images
Sport: Fencing
Gold: 6
Silver: 5
Bronze: 2
AP Photo
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 5
Silver: 4
Bronze: 4
Press Association via AP Images
Sport: Athletics
Gold: 9
Silver: 3
Bronze: 0
Sport: Canoeing
Gold: 8
Silver: 4
Bronze: 0
AP Photos/Arne Forsell
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Gold: 8
Silver: 4
Bronze: 0
AP Photo
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 8
Silver: 3
Bronze: 1
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 8
Silver: 3
Bronze: 1
DATE TAKEN: 8/3/96—Dressage gold medal winner Isabell Werth of Germany with her horse, Gigolo. ORG XMIT: UT27132
Sport: Equestrian dressage
Gold: 7
Silver: 5
Bronze: 0
Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 6
Silver: 3
Bronze: 3
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 4
Silver: 4
Bronze: 4
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 4
Silver: 2
Bronze: 6
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 3
Silver: 4
Bronze: 5
AP Photo/stf
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 9
Silver: 1
Bronze: 1
George Long-USA TODAY NETWORK
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 8
Silver: 2
Bronze: 1
CTK via AP Images
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 7
Silver: 4
Bronze: 0
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 7
Silver: 3
Bronze: 1
(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Sport: Track
Gold: 7
Silver: 3
Bronze: 1
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Sport: Speedskating
Gold: 5
Silver: 5
Bronze: 1
Sport: Shooting
Gold: 5
Silver: 4
Bronze: 2
(Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 5
Silver: 2
Bronze: 4
George Long-USA TODAY NETWORK
Sport: Athletics
Gold: 9
Silver: 1
Bronze: 0
(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 7
Silver: 3
Bronze: 0
Press Association via AP Images
Sport: Fencing
Gold: 7
Silver: 1
Bronze: 2
Sport: Archery
Gold: 6
Silver: 4
Bronze: 0
AP Photo
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 6
Silver: 2
Bronze: 2
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 6
Silver: 0
Bronze: 4
PETER KOHALMI/AFP via Getty Images
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 5
Silver: 3
Bronze: 2
AP Photo/Luca Bruno
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 5
Silver: 3
Bronze: 2
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 5
Silver: 2
Bronze: 3
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Gold: 4
Silver: 5
Bronze: 1
(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
Sport: Swimming
Gold: 4
Silver: 3
Bronze: 3
IMAGN
Sport: Gymnastics
Gold: 3
Silver: 6
Bronze: 1
AP Photo/Luca Bruno
Sport: Cross-Country Skiing
Gold: 2
Silver: 3
Bronze: 5