Who Has Won The Most Gold Medals In Track And Field
It takes a lot of dedication to win a gold medal in a track and field event. With that in mind, think of what you have to do to win nine gold medals? An ultra impressive feat, both Paavo Nurmi of Finland and Carl Lewis of the United States have each won nine gold medals, the most in Olympic history for the Track and Field disciplines. While both shared success on the track (sixth years apart, no less), Nurmi was primarily a long distance runner, while Lewis was best in short distances, and in jumping events.
Nurmi ruled the sport of track and field in the 1920′s winning three golds at the 1920 Antwerp Games (10,000m, Individual Cross Country, and Team Cross County), a spectacular five golds at the 1924 Paris Games (1,500m, 5000m, Individual Cross Country, 5000m Team Cross Country and 3000m Cross Country), and one gold at the 1928 Amsterdam Games (10,000m). Lewis, on the other hand, spent nearly two decades on the top, winning four golds at the 1984 Los Angeles Games (100m, 200m, Long Jump, 4x100m Relay), two golds at the 1988 Seoul Games (100m, Long Jump), two at the 1992 Barcelona Games (4x100m Relay, Long Jump), and one at the 1996 Atlanta Games (Long Jump).