Inspired by the ancient games held in the Greek town of Olympia from the 8th century BC, the Olympic Games is arguably the biggest sporting occasion on the planet (although the football World Cup certainly gives it a run for its money).
The first modern games took place in Athens in 1896 and now take place every four years.
In that time only 35 athletes have won 10 or more Olympic medals - dominating their respective sports to a remarkable degree at several successive games.
When it comes to medal tables - and determining the best Olympians of all time - it’s usually a case of simply who has won most gold medals.
This means that American athlete Carl Lewis comes 5th on the all-time list, with nine gold medals and one silver.
But Lewis is only 27th in the list of competitors who have won the most medals of any colour.
Here are the top 10.
5. Nikolai Andrianov
Another athlete to have won 15 Olympic medals is gymnast Nikolai Andrianov. He represented the Soviet Union from 1972 to 1980, winning 7 golds, 5 silvers and 3 bronzes. | Getty Images
6. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen
Biathlon all-time great Ole Einar Bjørndalen won 13 medals at Winter Olympics between 1998 and 2014. The Norwegian has 8 golds, 4 silvers and one bronze. | Getty Images
7. Boris Shakhlin
Gymnast Boris Shakhlin won 13 Olympic Medals for the Soviet Union from 1956 to 1964 - 7 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze. | Getty Images
8. Edoardo Mangiarotti
The third of five athletes to have won 13 Olympic medals is Italian fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti (pictured on the left). He won 6 golds, 5 silvers and 2 bronzes between 1936 and 1960. | AFP via Getty Images