Tokyo Olympics 2020: From Larissa Latynina to Allyson Felix, a look at most successful women in history of Games-Sports News , Firstpost

Since women first began to participate at the Olympics in 1900, there have been countless female athletes who have performed acts of incredible athleticism, winning medals by the bucketloads and leaving behind a lasting legacy of success. The achievements of these athletes are always worth revisiting, and with the Tokyo Olympics 2020 fast approaching, Firstpost.com takes a look at some of the most successful women to have competed in the Games.

Larisa Latynina

Larisa Latynina is an Olympic royalty, plain and simple. Inarguably the most successful Olympian on this list in terms of medals, Latynina was a Soviet artistic gymnast who, over the course of three editions of the Olympic Games in 1956, 1960 and 1964, amassed a haul of 14 individual medals, as well as four team medals. Of those 18 medals, 9 were gold, which is the most that any gymnast, male or female, has ever been awarded. She is currently second in the list of multiple Olympic medal winners, behind only Michael Phelps. Her legacy of success extends to coaching as well, and between 1965 and 1977, the Soviet gymnastics team continued to win medal upon medal at the Olympics. Latynina is also one of only two female gymnasts to have won an all-around gold medal in consecutive editions of the Olympics, along with contemporary Vera Caslavska.

Birgit Fischer

Birgit Fischer was another athlete who enjoyed a decades-long monopoly in a certain Olympic discipline, namely kayaking. The German was an almost ever-present figure in the sport from her first Olympics in Moscow 1980 to her last in Athens 2004, with the only exception coming in the 1984 edition, which was boycotted by the erstwhile East Germany.

Fischer won one gold medal in her Olympic debut, but really lived up to her potential at Seoul 1988, where she won golds in the K-2 500m and the K-4 500m, as well as a silver in the K-1 500m. At her next four Olympics, Fischer continued to win medals at a steady rate, winning exactly two medals at every edition of the Games she competed at between 1992 and 2004.

Jenny Thompson

Jenny Thompson is a former American swimmer and winner of twelve Olympic medals, including eight gold medals, which she won over the course of four editions of the Olympics. Her Olympic debut came in Barcelona 1992, where she had a slightly disappointing showing on an individual level, winning only one silver medal, but she made up for it by being involved in two team gold medals. In 1996 and 2000, Thompson and her teammates continued to win big in relays, and in both editions, Thompson won three gold medals for team events. Aged 31 at the 2004 Olympics, Thompson continued to be a crucial cog in the American team, winning a silver medal in the 400m freestyle relay and the 4×100m medley relay.

Vera Caslavska 

Vera Caslavska was an immensely successful artistic gymnast who represented the erstwhile Czechoslovakia. Caslavska’s two most successful outings at the Games came in Tokyo 1964 and Mexico City 1968, and her performances at these two tournaments led to her winning an astounding seven gold medals, as well as three silver medals. Prior to that, she also picked up an Olympic silver medal at Rome 1960. Caslavska is also one of only two female gymnasts to have won an all-around gold medal in consecutive editions of the Olympics, along with contemporary Larisa Latynina.

Isabell Werth

Isabell Werth is an equestrian and world champion in dressage, and currently holds the honour of being the most decorated equestrian athlete in the history of the Olympics. Werth’s long and storied association with the Games began nearly three decades ago in Barcelona 1992, where she won a gold medal in the team dressage event, as well as an individual silver.

Since then, she has gone on to win a total of six gold medals and four silver medals, the most recent of which were a team gold and an individual silver at Rio 2016. Werth is expected to continue her successful streak at Tokyo 2020, where she will be participating in her sixth Olympic Games.

Allyson Felix

American sprinter Allyson Felix is one of the most successful athletes to have ever graced the track at the Games, and her nine Olympic medals, of which six are gold, have made her a household name over the past couple of decades. Felix made her Olympic bow in Athens 2004, where she finished as silver medallist in the 200m, a feat that she would go on to repeat at Beijing 2008. In Beijing, Felix also played a part in America’s triumph at the 4×400 m relay. London 2012 was perhaps Felix’s most successful showing at the Games, as she took home an individual gold medal in the 200m, as well as two relay golds. At Rio 2016, Felix finished with a silver in the 400m, and added two more relay golds to her medal tally. Aged 35, Felix has not slowed down one bit, and the American will look to add on to her already impressive collection of medals at Tokyo 2020.

Florence Griffith Joyner

Florence Griffith Joyner was an American track and field athlete that burst onto the scene in the 1980s, setting records wherever she went and winning medals by the bucketloads. Griffith’s first medal at the Olympics came at Los Angeles 1984, where she won the silver medal in the 200m, but her finest moment at the Games would come four years later, at Seoul 1998. After having improved vastly in the build-up to the 1988 Games, when she sprinted 100m in 10.49 seconds during the quarter-finals of the US Olympic Trials to set a new world record, Griffith arrived in Seoul as a firm favourite in both the 100m and 200m. She lived up to that billing, winning gold medals in both distances with times of 10.62 seconds (100m) and 21.34 seconds (200m), records which still stand to this day. She also won gold in the 4×100m relay, as well as silver in the 4x400m relay in the same competition. Griffith would go on to retire from athletics just a couple of months later at the age of 29, but her incredible achievement is yet to be surpassed by anyone since.

Serena Williams & Venus Williams

The Williams sisters’ achievements on the WTA Tour are common knowledge, but their incredible success extends to the Olympics as well, with the pair having won three doubles gold medals together. The first of these medals came in Sydney 2000, with the second being won at Beijing 2008 and the last at London 2012. In addition to these medals, both Serena and Venus have won an individual gold medal apiece, with Venus beating Elena Dementieva in the Sydney 2000 final and Serena getting the better of Maria Sharapova at London 2012.

Venus also has a silver medal in mixed doubles to her name, which she won at Rio 2016 with Rajeev Ram. The pair’s record of four Olympic gold medals each is unmatched, and they are currently the most successful players in the 125-year history of the sport at the Games.

Ryoko Tani

Ryoko Tani is a former judoka from Japan who competed in five different Olympic Games and won a medal in each of her campaigns. Tani exclusively competed in the 48kg extra-lightweight category, and she made her Olympic debut at Barcelona 1992, where she won a silver medal at the age of 16. Following a 4-year, 84-match winning streak, Tani was expected to go the distance and win gold at Atlanta 1996, but lost the final to finish with another silver medal. She would then go on to win back to back golds at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, and a bronze medal at Beijing 2008.

Dara Torres

American swimmer Dara Torres is a veritable icon in her sport, having competed in five separate editions of the Olympic Games over the course of 24 years. Over that period, she won 12 Olympic medals and helped set three World Records in team events. Torres’ made her Olympic debut at Los Angeles 1984, where she was part of a gold medal-winning 4×100m freestyle relay team. At Seoul 1998, she won a bronze and silver medal apiece for team events, and at Barcelona 1992, she won another 4×100m freestyle relay gold. After missing the 1996 games, her comeback at Sydney 2000 was incredible, and it culminated in her winning two team golds and three individual bronze medals. After another lengthy break, Torres returned to the Olympics at the age of 41, and at Beijing 2008, she won three silver medals, and upon doing so, became the oldest medal-winning swimmer in Olympic history.

Nadia Comaneci

Nadia Comaneci is a former Romanian gymnast who has won nine Olympic medals, five of which were gold. While Comaneci is perhaps not the most felicitated gymnast on the list, she’s a truly iconic figure in Olympic history due to her performances at Montreal 1976, where she became the first gymnast to receive a perfect score of 10.0 at the Games. Comaneci took home five medals from Montreal, including three golds (All-Around, Balance Beam and Uneven Bars), a silver (Team) and a bronze (Floor Exercise). At Moscow 1980, Comaneci had another impressive showing, as she won two gold medals (Balance Beam and Floor Exercise) as well as a pair of silvers (Team and All-Around).

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a former American track and field athlete who has competed in four different editions of the Tokyo Olympics, over the course of which she has won three gold medals, a silver and two bronzes. Joyner-Kersee specialised in the heptathlon and the long jump, and is widely considered to be one of the best athletes to have ever competed in the disciplines. Her first medal was a silver at Los Angeles 1984, where she finished second in the heptathlon.

However, perhaps her best ever Olympic performance came at Seoul 1988, where she won gold in both the heptathlon and the long jump. Her effort of 7.40m in the long jump is a still-standing Olympic record, while her total of 7,291 points in the heptathlon a still-standing World and Olympic record. Joyner-Kersee also won a gold medal in the heptathlon at the 1992 Olympics, as well as bronze medals in the long jump at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

Valentina Vezzali

Valentina Vezzali is an Italian fencer who has won nine Olympic medals over the course of her career, making her the third-most successful fencer in the history of the Games, behind compatriot Edoardo Mangiarotti and Hungary’s Aladar Gerevich. Vezzali has six gold medals to her name in foil competitions, of which three are individual medals and three are from team events. Her Olympic debut came in Atlanta 1996, where she won a team gold and an individual silver, before she became the first fencer in Olympic history to win three individual gold medals at consecutive Games, namely Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

Anastasia Davydova

Anastasia Davydova is a Russian artistic swimmer who has five Olympic gold medals to her name. Alongside compatriot Anastasiya Yermakova, Davydova has won two gold medals in the duet competition at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. She was also a part of the Russian team that won consecutive team gold medals at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, making Davydova the most decorated swimmer in Olympic history.

Wu Minxia

China’s Wu Mixia is a diver best known for her exploits in the 1 and 3m springboard, as well as the synchronized 3m springboard events. Wu‘s Olympic debut came at Athens 2004, where alongside Guo Jingjin, she won gold in the 3m women’s synchronized springboard, as well as an individual silver in the 3m women’s springboard. Wu and Guo recreated their gold-medal winning performance at Beijing 2008, and Wu also won an individual bronze. Following her partner Guo’s retirement, Wu began to compete with He Zi, and the pair won gold at London 2012. Wu also won a gold medal in the individual event, and she would go on to win another individual gold at Rio 2016, making her a five-time Olympic champion.

Kim Soo-nyung

Kim Soo-nyung is a South Korean archer that played a vital role in her country’s decades long dominance in the discipline, winning six Olympic medals. Kim’s first two medals were both golds, with one coming in a team event at the 1988 Olympics, while the other was an individual medal. In the next Olympics, i.e. Barcelona 1992, Kim won another gold for a team event, as well as an individual silver. Following her impressive showing in Barcelona, Kim took an extended break from the sport, and only returned to the Olympics in Sydney 2000, where she won yet another team gold and an individual bronze to make her the most successful female archer in the history of the Olympics.

Teresa Edwards

America has understandably dominated the sport of basketball at the Olympics since its first introduction all the way back in 1936, so it’s no surprise that the leading medalists in the discipline are all American. However, Teresa Edwards stands head and shoulders above all her peers, with her total of five medals putting her at the very top of the charts. Edwards was a crucial cog in a USA women’s basketball team that won back-to-back gold medals in 1984 and 1988. 1992 can be seen as a disappointment of sorts for Edwards and her team, as they finished with just a bronze medal. However, to be fair, team USA responded in some style, bouncing back to win gold medals at the next six Olympic Games, with Edwards being involved in two of those medal-winning campaigns.

Elisabeta Lipa

Elisabeta Lipa is a Romanian rower who has eight Olympic medals to her name, making her the most decorated rower in the history of the Games. Lipa debuted aged 19 at Los Angeles 1984, where she won the first of those eight medals, which was a gold in the double sculls alongside Marioara Popescu. She would go on to win two more silver medals in the discipline in 1988 and 1992, with teammate Veronica Cochela. Lipa has also won a gold medal for single sculls at Barcelona 1992, and was a part of the Romanian team that won gold in the Eight event at three consecutive Olympics (1996, 2000 and 2004). To top all of that off, Lipa also has a bronze medal in the quadruple sculls, which she picked up in 1988.

Kaori Icho

Kaori Icho is a Japanese freestyle wrestler who competed primarily in the 63kg category. Icho has had an immensely successful journey at the Olympics, a journey which began with a gold medal in the 63kg category at Athens 2004. Icho then went on to repeat the feat in the next two Olympics, winning gold at the 63kg events in both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

Following the 2012 Olympics, Icho shifted a weight class down and began competing in the 58kg category. She continued to dominate the sport despite this, and at Rio 2016, she became the very first woman in any sport to win individual gold at four consecutive Olympics with a gold medal-winning performance in the 58kg class.

Christie Pearce

The USA women’s football team is notoriously dominant, and Christie Pearce was a crucial part of the setup 18 years, winning an incredible 311 caps for her country. Pearce has won just about every competition in the sport multiple times, so it’s no surprise that she has enjoyed considerable success at the Olympics as well. She is a three-time gold medalist, having won at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. In addition to the gold medals, she also won a silver in her debut campaign at the 2000 Olympics.