List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games

Canadian Ian Millar in a 2007 picture. At London 2012 he participated in a record 10th Olympics

Only a small fraction of the world's population ever competes at the Olympic Games; an even smaller fraction competes in multiple Games. 950 athletes[1] (648 men[2] and 302 women[3]) have participated in at least five Olympics from Athens 1896 to Paris 2024, but excluding the 1906 Intercalated Games. 229 of these have gone on to make at least a sixth Olympic appearance.

Multiple appearances

Several athletes would have made more appearances at the Olympics if not for reasons out of their control, such as World War I and World War II (no Olympics were held in 1916, 1940 or 1944), politically motivated boycotts, financial difficulties, or ill-timed injuries.

Canadian equestrian athlete Ian Millar and Georgian sports shooter Nino Salukvadze (representing Soviet Union in 1988 and Unified Team in 1992) have competed at ten Olympic games.[4] Austrian sailor Hubert Raudaschl and Latvian shooter Afanasijs Kuzmins (representing Soviet Union until 1988) have each made nine Olympic appearances.

Half of all six-time Olympians belong to the shooting, equestrian, sailing and table tennis disciplines, which are known for allowing athletes more longevity at the elite level. Athletics and cross-country skiing also provide a large number of athletes who have competed at five Olympics.

Number of athletes who have appeared at multiple Olympics from 1896 to 2024 inclusive
Exact number of Olympic appearances Minimum number of Olympic appearances
5 6 7 8 9 10 5 6 7 8 9 10
Men 491 115 28 11 2 1 648 157 42 14 3 1
Women 230 50 16 5 0 1 302 72 22 6 1 1
Total 721 165 44 16 2 2 950 229 64 20 4 2

This table shows the number of athletes who have appeared at exactly (or at least) n Olympic Games between 1896 and 2024, as n varies from 5 to 10. For example, 28 men have appeared at exactly seven Olympics while 42 men have appeared in at least seven Olympics. Appearances at the 1906 Intercalated Games are not included. Winter and Summer Olympics are counted as 'different' Olympics even if they occurred in the same year. While these numbers are believed to be correct, it is possible that one or two athletes have been missed, particularly with five-time Olympians.

Approximately a quarter of long-competing athletes are female. Italian canoeist Josefa Idem became the first woman to take part in eight Olympics, eventually reaching the final of the K1-500m event at the age of 48.[5] Before her, the closest a female athlete had come to competing at eight Olympics was 0.028 seconds, which was the time by which Jamaican-Slovenian sprinter Merlene Ottey had failed to meet the qualification time required for appearance at the 2008 Summer Olympics, at age 48. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Georgian sports shooter Nino Salukvadze competed in her 10th consecutive Olympic Games at age 55, becoming the first female athlete in history to do so.[6]

Four six-time Olympians here have participated in Olympic Games over a period of 40 years: Bahamian sailor Durward Knowles (8 Olympics), Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm (8), Danish fencer Ivan Osiier (7), and Norwegian sailor Magnus Konow (6). Note should also be made of Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu, whose first and third Olympic appearances in 1964 and 2012 were 48 years apart. Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina has competed at every Olympics from 1992-2020. She continues to compete at the elite level in her late 40s in a sport where few competitors continue past their mid-20s or compete at two or three Olympics.

Two five-time Olympians competed under four different flags at the Olympics, one of whom never actually changed nationality. Both shooter Jasna Šekarić (7 Olympics) and table tennis player Ilija Lupulesku (5) competed for Yugoslavia at the 1988 Olympics. In 1992, since Yugoslavia was under UN sanctions, they (and fifty other Serbians, Montenegrins and Macedonians) competed as Independent Olympic Participants before competing at the next Olympics under the flag of Serbia and Montenegro. Lupulesku became an American citizen and competed for the USA in 2004, while Šekarić finally competed for Serbia in 2008.

29 five-time Olympians have won at least eight medals: American swimmer Michael Phelps (28), Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen (15), German equestrian Isabell Werth (14), Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen (13), Italian fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti (13), Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst (13), German kayaker Birgit Fischer (12), American swimmer Dara Torres (12), American track and field athlete Allyson Felix (11), Italian short track speed skater Arianna Fontana (11), Hungarian fencer Aladár Gerevich (10), Italian cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo (10), Russian cross-country skier Raisa Smetanina (10), Finnish gymnast Heikki Savolainen (9), Jamaican-Slovenian sprinter Merlene Ottey (9), German speed skater Claudia Pechstein (9), Italian fencer Valentina Vezzali (9), Dutch equestrian Anky van Grunsven (9), German biathlete Uschi Disl (9), Romanian rower Elisabeta Oleniuc (8), German equestrian Reiner Klimke (8), Italian fencer Giovanna Trillini (8), French fencer Philippe Cattiau (8), Jamaican track and field athlete Veronica Campbell-Brown (8), Jamaican track and field athlete Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (8), Russian diver Dmitri Sautin (8), Norwegian alpine skier Kjetil André Aamodt (8), German biathlete Ricco Groß (8) and british cyclist Bradley Wiggins (8).

57 athletes who have competed in at least five Olympics participated in two sports: 23 of them competing at both the Winter and Summer Olympics, 21 competing at the Summer Olympics and 13 competing at the Winter Olympics. The most common cross-over sports are athletics/bobsleigh (8 competitors) and cycling/speed skating (3 competitors).

Married couples among five-time Olympians include biathletes Ole Einar Bjørndalen (Norway) and Nathalie Santer-Bjørndalen (Italy/Belgium), Lithuanian pairs figure skaters Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, Finnish cross-country skiers Harri Kirvesniemi and Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi-Hämäläinen, lugers Susi Erdmann (Germany) and Gerhard Plankensteiner (Italy).

Familial relationships among five-time Olympians include Belgian shooters François Lafortune Sr and Jr (father-son; with their brothers/uncles, they have seventeen Olympic appearances between them), Italian equestrians Piero and Raimondo d'Inzeo (brothers), British canoeists Andrew and Stephen Train (brothers), Greek shooters Alexandros and Ioannis Theofilakis (brothers), Italian cross-country skiers Sabina Valbusa-Fulvio Valbusa and Manuela Di Centa-Giorgio Di Centa (sister-brother), Brazilian equestrians Nelson and Rodrigo Pessoa (father-son), Austrian lugers Markus and Tobias Schiegl (cousins), Latvian skeleton racers Martins Dukurs and Tomass Dukurs (brothers). A more tenuous relationship is that of Argentine sailors Jorge Salas Chávez and Roberto Sieburger; Chávez's cousin Jorge del Río Salas (4 Olympics) married Sieburger's cousin Marylin Sieburger. (The extended Sieburger-Salas clan includes seven Argentinian sailors with twenty Olympic appearances.)

List of athletes with at least six Olympic appearances

So far, there have been 229 athletes who have appeared at Olympic Games at least six times. 67 of them have never won an Olympic medal. Athletes in bold are believed to be still active, i.e., have yet to announce their retirement. Female athletes are displayed with a pink background. Sorting is by number of appearances, Games of last appearance, date of birth.

Athletes with at least five Olympic appearances

950 athletes have competed in at least five Olympic Games (959 if the 1906 Games are counted) between 1896 and 2024 inclusive. They are listed here, grouped by discipline. The columns labelled 'N+' denote the number of athletes who have competed in at least N Olympics. The number of male and female athletes who have competed in at least five Olympics are also listed, in the columns labelled 'M' and 'F'.

Athletes who have competed in more than one sport are counted once per sport.

Athletes with at least 5 uncertain Olympic appearances

These 25 athletes[13] are listed here, grouped by discipline. The columns labelled 'N+' denote the number of athletes who have competed in at least N Olympics. The number of male and female athletes who have competed in at least five Olympics are also listed, in the columns labelled 'M' and 'F'. These athletes have at least one DNS in the Olympic and Olympedia websites or an appearance in a non-Olympic event.

Athletes who have competed in more than one sport are counted once per sport.

Discipline 5+ M F 6+ 7+ Athletes
Athletics 12 7 5 2 0 6: Kim Collins, João Vieira, 5: Yamilé Aldama, Géo André, Juliet Cuthbert, Svetla Dimitrova, Cydonie Mothersill, Théophile Nkounkou, Raoul Paoli,[14] Voula Patoulidou, Don Quarrie, Gaston Roelants
Equestrian 3 2 1 2 1 7: Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, 6: Victoria Max-Theurer, 5: Stefano Brecciaroli
Short track speed skating[15] 3 0 3 0 0 5: Sylvie Daigle, Amy Peterson, Nobuko Yamada
Football 2 0 2 0 0 5: Hedvig Lindahl, Tânia Maranhão
Curling 2 1 1 1 0 6: Torger Nergård, 5: Dordi Nordby[16]
Luge 1 0 1 1 0 6: Anne Abernathy
Fencing 1 0 1 0 0 5: Ana Derșidan-Ene-Pascu
Rowing 1 1 0 0 0 5: Raoul Paoli
Sailing 1 0 1 0 0 5: Jessica Crisp[17]
Wrestling 1 1 0 0 0 5: Raoul Paoli

Intercalated Games

The 1906 Intercalated Games are not considered 'official' Olympics, but medals were awarded.

The following athletes have appeared in at least 8 Olympics if 1906 Intercalated Games are included.

Athlete Nation Born/Death Games Period
(age of 1st/last)
Sport Tot.
Edgar Seligman  United Kingdom 1867/1958 1896, 1906-1912, 1920-1932 36 years (29/65) Fencing (6)[18] and art competitions (2) 0 3[19] 0 2

The following athletes have appeared in at least 6 Olympics if 1906 Intercalated Games are included.

Athlete Nation Born/Death Games Period
(age of 1st/last)
Sport Tot.
Alexandros Theofilakis Greece 1877/? 1896, 1906-1912, 1920-1924 28 years (19/47) Shooting 0 2[20] 0 2
Ioannis Theofilakis Greece 1879/1968 1896, 1906-1912, 1920-1924 28 years (17/45) Shooting 0 1 0 1
Adrianus de Jong  Netherlands 1882/1966 1906-1912, 1920-1928 22 years (23/45) Fencing 0 0 5 5
Paul Radmilovic  Great Britain 1886/1968 1906-1912, 1920-1928 22 years (20/42) Water polo (5) and swimming (3) 4 0 0 4

The following athletes have appeared in at least 5 Olympics if 1906 Intercalated Games are included.

Athlete Nation Born/Death Games Period
(age of 1st/last)
Sport Tot.
Ladislav Žemla Bohemia (3) and  Czechoslovakia (2) 1887/1955 1906-1912, 1920-1924 18 years (19/37) Tennis 0 0 1 1
Willem Hubert van Blijenburgh  Netherlands 1881/1936 1906-1912, 1920-1924 18 years (25/43) Fencing 0 0 3 3
Jetze Doorman  Netherlands 1881/1931 1906-1912, 1920-1924 18 years (25/43) Fencing (5) and modern pentathlon (1) 0 0 4 4
Fernand de Montigny  Belgium 1885/1974 1906-1912, 1920-1924 18 years (21/39) Fencing (5) and field hockey (1) 0 2 3[21] 5
Alfréd Hajós[22]  Kingdom of Hungary 1878/1955 1896, 1906, 1924-1932 36 years (18/54) Swimming (2)[23] and art competitions (3) 2 1 0 3
Max Decugis[24]  France 1882/1978 1900, 1906-1912, 1920 20 years (18/40) Tennis (5)[25] 4 1 1 6[26]
Paul Vasseur[27]  France 1884/1971 1900, 1906-1912, 1920 20 years (16/36) Swimming (3)[28] and water polo (3) 0 0 1 1
Paul Anspach[29]  Belgium 1882/1981 1906-1912, 1920-1924 18 years (24/42) Fencing (5)[30] 2 2 1 5
Federico Cesarano[31]  Italy 1886/1969 1906-1912, 1920-1924 18 years (20/38) Fencing (4)[32] and Shooting (1) 0 0 1 1

Dual sport and multi-sport Olympians

Many Olympians have competed in two or more sports. These athletes are listed below, with the number of times they competed in each sport. Sometimes an individual has competed in two disciplines at the same Games; such instances are noted.

Summer and Winter Olympians

For all the athletes see: List of athletes who competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games

187 athletes competed in both Summer and Winter Olympics.

The most common combinations of disciplines are athletics/bobsleigh (51 competitors; summer and winter sports respectively), ice hockey (18 athletes: in the 1920 Summer Olympics there was exceptionally ice hockey, a typical winter sport) and speed skating/track cycling (12 athletes; winter and summer sports respectively).

  Men that won medals in different sports
  Women that won medals in different sports

Summer Olympians

For all the athletes see: List of athletes who competed in more than one sport at Summer Olympic games

Below there's a list of five-time Olympians who participated in two or more Summer sports.

  Men that won medals in different sports
  Women that won medals in different sports
Athlete Country Sports First Last Tot.
Judith Arndt  Germany road cycling 5, track cycling 2 1996 2012 5
David Bárcena Ríos  Mexico equestrian 3, modern pentathlon 2 1964 1980 5
Cecilia Biagioli  Argentina marathon swimming 1, swimming 4 2000 2020 5
João Gonçalves Filho  Brazil swimming 2, water polo 3 1952 1968 5
Spyros Gianniotis  Greece marathon swimming 3, swimming 3 2000 2016 5
Greg Henderson  New Zealand road cycling 1, track cycling 4 1996 2012 5
Kristel Köbrich  Chile marathon swimming 1, swimming 5 2004 2020 5
Bengt Ljungquist  Sweden equestrian 1, fencing 4 1936 1964 5
Jeannie Longo  France road cycling 7, track cycling 1 1984 2008 7
Peter Macken  Australia fencing 1, modern pentathlon 5 1960 1976 5
Paul Martin  Switzerland art competitions 1, athletics 5 1920 1936 5
Oussama Mellouli  Tunisia marathon swimming 3, swimming 5 2000 2020 6
Reinder Nummerdor  Netherlands beach volleyball 3, volleyball 2 2000 2016 5
Stuart O'Grady  Australia road cycling 4, track cycling 4 1992 2012 6
Paul Radmilovic  United Kingdom swimming 2, water polo 5 1908 1928 5
Richard Schuil  Netherlands beach volleyball 2, volleyball 3 1996 2012 5
Edgar Seligman  United Kingdom art competitions 2, fencing 4 1908 1932 6
Marianne Vos  Netherlands road cycling 5, track cycling 1 2008 2024 5
Kerri Walsh Jennings  United States beach volleyball 4, volleyball 1 2000 2016 5
Bradley Wiggins  United Kingdom road cycling 1, track cycling 4 2000 2016 5
Wong Kam-po  Hong Kong road cycling 2, track cycling 4 1996 2012 5

Winter Olympians

For all the athletes see: List of athletes who competed in more than one sport at Winter Olympic games

Below there's a list of five-time Olympians who participated in two or more Winter sports.

  Men that won medals in different sports
  Women that won medals in different sports
Athlete Country Sports First Last Tot.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen  Norway biathlon 6, cross-country skiing 1 1994 2014 6
Mike Dixon  United Kingdom biathlon 5, cross-country skiing 1 1984 2002 6
Susi Erdmann  Germany bobsleigh 3, luge 2 1992 2006 5
Aleksander Grajf  Yugoslavia (until 1988),  Slovenia biathlon 3, cross-country skiing 2 1984 2002 5
Arturo Kinch  Costa Rica alpine skiing 3, cross-country skiing 4 1980 2006 5
Oļegs Maļuhins  Unified Team (1992),  Latvia biathlon 4, cross-country skiing 1 1992 2006 5
Hannu Manninen  Finland cross-country skiing 1, nordic combined 6 1994 2018 6
Casey Puckett  United States alpine skiing 4, freestyle skiing 1 1992 2010 5
Sergei Tchepikov  Soviet Union (1988),  Unified Team (1992),  Russia biathlon 5, cross-country skiing 1 1988 2006 6
Indrek Tobreluts  Estonia biathlon 5, cross-country skiing 1 1998 2014 5
Athanassios Tsakiris  Greece biathlon 4, cross-country skiing 2 1988 2010 5
Gerda Weissensteiner  Italy bobsleigh 2, luge 4 1988 2006 6
Alexandr Zubkov  Russia bobsleigh 4, luge 1 1998 2014 5

See also

References

  1. ^ 968 if the 18 five-time uncertain Olympians not put in the "normal" table were put here
  2. ^ 654 if Géo André, Stefano Brecciaroli, Théophile Nkounkou, Don Quarrie, Raoul Paoli and Gaston Roelants were considered
  3. ^ 314 if Yamilé Aldama, Jessica Crisp, Sylvie Daigle, Ana Derșidan-Ene-Pascu, Svetla Dimitrova, Hedvig Lindahl, Tânia Maranhão, Cydonie Mothersill, Dordi Nordby, Voula Patoulidou, Amy Peterson and Nobuko Yamada were considered
  4. ^ "Canada's Olympic equestrian team named - News". July 6, 2012.
  5. ^ "Day 11 Review: Idem makes final in eighth Games - London 2012 Olympics". Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  6. ^ "SALUKVADZE Nino". Paris 2024 Olympics.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Appeared at Summer Games and Winter Games.
  8. ^ Gold in luge and bronze in bobsleigh.
  9. ^ a b London 2012 - Swimming - Qualified Swimmers Archived July 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "FULL PREVIEW: Greece at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games". August 5, 2016.
  11. ^ https://pledgetimes.com/like-pellegrini-none-ever-fifth-final-in-a-row-in-the-200-freestyle/
  12. ^ This athlete have participated at 5 Olympics but in different sports, so he hasn't participated at 5 Olympics in one sport and he is written twice in the sports he has participated
  13. ^ There are written 27 athletes but Raoul Paoli is counted 3 times
  14. ^ In other websites he has a 6th Olympic appearance in 1900 Summer Olympics with a bronze medal in rowing but it's not clear
  15. ^ Everyone with 1 non-medal Olympic appearance
  16. ^ 2 non-medal Olympic appearances
  17. ^ One non-medal Olympic appearance
  18. ^ He has a DNS in 1896 Summer Olympics and has one appearance in fencing in the 1906 Intercalated Games
  19. ^ One is referred to the 1906 Intercalated Games
  20. ^ One is referred to the 1906 Intercalated Games
  21. ^ One is referred to the 1906 Intercalated Games
  22. ^ Uncertain
  23. ^ Included the DNS at the 1906 Intercalated Games; it's unclear if this DNS is considered as an official Olympic appearance or not.
  24. ^ Uncertain
  25. ^ Included the 1906 Intercalated Games and it's unclear if the DNS in 1908 and in 1912 are considered as an official Olympic appearance or not.
  26. ^ Included 3 gold medals in the 1906 Intercalated Games.
  27. ^ Uncertain
  28. ^ He has a DNS in this sport in the 1906 Intercalated Games and in 1908 Summer Olympics.
  29. ^ Uncertain
  30. ^ He has a DNS in this sport in the 1906 Intercalated Games.
  31. ^ Uncertain
  32. ^ He has a DNS in this sport in 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics.
  33. ^ Non-medal event
  34. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  35. ^ In the Olympics database he results as a competitor in football at 1924 Summer Olympics but he didn't start, so I'm not sure if insert him in this list or not
  36. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  37. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  38. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  39. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  40. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  41. ^ Non-medal event
  42. ^ 2 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  43. ^ Non-medal event
  44. ^ Non-medal event
  45. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  46. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  47. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  48. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  49. ^ Non-medal event
  50. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  51. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  52. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  53. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  54. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  55. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  56. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  57. ^ Non-medal event
  58. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  59. ^ Non-medal event
  60. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  61. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  62. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  63. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  64. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  65. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  66. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  67. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  68. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  69. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 1 in Winter Olympics
  70. ^ 1 in Summer Olympics and 2 in Winter Olympics
  71. ^ Non-medal event