Olympic Games

Olympic Games, an athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the late 19th century. Before the 1970s the Games were officially limited to competitors with amateur status, but in the 1980s many events were opened to professional athletes. Currently, the Games are open to all, even the top professional athletes in basketball and football (soccer). The ancient Olympic Games included several of the sports that are now part of the Summer Games program, which at times has included events in as many as 32 different sports. In 1924 the Winter Games were sanctioned for winter sports. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition.
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STATISTICS
(By World Athletics Statistician Mark Butler)

MOST MEDALS
12 Paavo Nurmi (FIN), 9-3-0 in three Olympics (1920-28)
11 Allyson Felix (USA), 7-3-1 in five Olympics (2004-20)
10 Ray Ewry (USA), 10-0-0 in four Olympics (1900-08)
10 Carl Lewis (USA), 9-1-0 in four Olympics (1984-96)
9 Merlene Ottey (JAM), 0-3-6 in seven Olympics (1980-2004)
9 Martin Sheridan (USA), 5-3-1 in three Olympics (1904-08)
8 Usain Bolt (JAM), 8-0-0 in three Olympics (2008-16)
8 Ville Ritola (FIN), 5-3-0 in two Olympics (1924-28)
8 Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM), 3-3-2 in five Olympics (2000-16)
8 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM), 3-4-1 in four Olympics (2008-20)

MOST GAMES CONTESTED
8 Jesus Angel Garcia (ESP), 1992-2020
7 Merlene Ottey (JAM), 1980-2004
6 Joao Ntyamba (ANG), 1988-2008
6 Dragutin Topic (YUG, SRB), 1992-2012
6 Lia Manoliu (ROU), 1952-1972
6 Tessa Sanderson (GBR), 1976-1996
6 Maria Mutola (MOZ), 1988-2008
6 Nicoleta Grasu (ROU), 1992-2012
6 Melina Robert-Michon (FRA), 2000-2020

YOUNGEST & OLDEST
Youngest men's champion: Bob Mathias (USA), Decathlon (1948) with 17 years, 263 days
Youngest women's champion: Barbara Jones (USA), 4x100m (1952) with 15 years, 123 days
Youngest men's medallist: Joseph Stadler (USA), Standing HJ (1904) with 17 years, 146 days
Youngest women's medallist: Barbara Jones (USA), 4x100m (1952) with 15 years 123 days

Oldest men's champion: Patrick McDonald (USA), 56lb weight throw (1920) with 42 years 26 days
Oldest women's champion: Ellina Zvereva (BLR), DT (2000) with 39 years 316 days
Oldest men's medallist: Matt McGrath (USA), HT (1924) with 48 years 195 days
Oldest women's medallist: Merlene Ottey (JAM), 4x100m (2000) with 40 years, 143 days

MEDALS WON ACROSS MOST GAMES
5 Merlene Ottey (JAM), 1980, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000
5 Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM), 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
5 Allyson Felix (USA), 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020
4 Ray Ewry (USA), 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908
4 Al Oerter (USA), 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968
4 Vladimir Golubnichiy (URS), 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972
4 Viktor Saneyev (URS), 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980
4 Carl Lewis (USA), 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996
4 Jan Zelezny (CZE), 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000
4 Chris Brown (BAH), 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
4 Irena Kirszenstein-Szewinska (POL), 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976
4 Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA), 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996
4 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH), 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
4 Novlene Williams-Mills (JAM), 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
4 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM), 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020

 NOTES 
Athletics is the queen event of Olympics. In the first athletics programme of modern Olympiad, twelve events were contested. A total of 25 medals were awarded for winners and the runner-ups (no medal for third-placed athletes). Later, medal distribution were donated also third-place athletes, which were up to 37 in total medals. Some important highlights from athletics in the Olympics:

♦ In very opening day of the initial Games, (6th of April 1896), James Connolly from United States crowned as the first Olympic champion in modern history after winning triple jump competition.

♦ Conclusion with 2016 Rio Olympics, EXACTLY 1000 gold medals distributed in athletics at 998 events. The difference came from 1908 Pole vault (two winners) and Jim Thorpe (reinstated his 1912 golds both for decathlon & pentathlon). With regular 998 golds, this three additional gold up to total 1001, but IOC's declaration about 'no gold' in Sydney 2000 women's 100 metres final (Marion Jones DQ), brought to total gold number exact 1000.

♦ 2019 different countries contested at the Games. Only four nations have competed at all the 29 editions (including 1906 Games): Australia, France, Great Britain and Greece.

♦ Women's events included the athletics programme from 1928 Amsterdam. 95 women competed in that Games.

♦ Most races contested in the Olympics are 53 by Merlene Ottey (JAM/SLO). She won 25 of these, but never in a final. Most contested man is Pietro Mennea (ITA) with 33. (Stats by Mark Butler)