Most Olympic gold medals by year: Here is the top overall medal winner in every Olympics

Brendan OSullivan

Most Olympic gold medals by year: Here is the top overall medal winner in every Olympics image

After hundreds of competitions, there's one country that takes the crown for the most medals at the Olympic Games.

The Olympics, both summer and winter, feature individual and team events that count toward a nation's final total. Olympians are awarded medals for placing first, second and third place in their respective competitions.

A country's total medal count determines their final placement at the Olympics. The number resets at each set of Games, giving each nation another chance at earning the top spot.

The Sporting News lists which country has the most gold medals for each Olympic Games dating back to 1896.

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Most Olympic gold medals by year

The United States have historically been the top country at the Summer Olympics, while Norway leads the pack at the Winter Games. The U.S. has been the top medalist 19 times, including 18 times at the Summer Games.

The Soviet Union has 13 victories, six at the Summer Games and seven at the Winter Games. Norway leads all Winter Games with nine wins.

YearSummer/WinterCountryGold medals
1896SummerUnited States11
1900SummerFrance27
1904SummerUnited States76
1908SummerGreat Britain56
1912SummerUnited States26
1920SummerUnited States41
1924SummerUnited States45
1924WinterNorway4
1928SummerUnited States22
1928WinterNorway6
1932SummerUnited States44
1932WinterUnited States6
1936SummerGermany38
1936WinterNorway7
1948SummerUnited States38
1948WinterNorway/Sweden4
1952SummerUnited States40
1952WinterNorway7
1956SummerSoviet Union37
1956WinterSoviet Union7
1960SummerSoviet Union43
1960WinterSoviet Union7
1964SummerUnited States36
1964WinterSoviet Union11
1968SummerUnited States45
1968WinterNorway6
1972SummerSoviet Union50
1972WinterSoviet Union8
1976SummerSoviet Union49
1976WinterSoviet Union13
1980SummerSoviet Union80
1980WinterSoviet Union10
1984SummerUnited States83
1984WinterEast Germany9
1988SummerSoviet Union55
1988WinterSoviet Union11
1992SummerUnified Team*45
1992WinterGermany10
1994WinterRussia11
1996SummerUnited States44
1998WinterGermany12
2000SummerUnited States37
2002WinterNorway13
2004SummerUnited States36
2006WinterGermany11
2008SummerChina48
2010WinterCanada14
2012SummerUnited States48
2014WinterRussia11
2016SummerUnited States46
2018WinterNorway14
2020SummerUnited States39
2022WinterNorway16

*The Unified Team consisted of 12 of the 15 Soviet Union states. Soviet Union states on this team were: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania competed separately.

Brendan OSullivan

Brendan OSullivan Photo

Brendan O'Sullivan is an editorial intern for Sporting News, joining in 2024. He previously worked at Newsday on Long Island, New York after graduating from Quinnipiac University.