Gold medal sweeps, world records, and Olympic Games immortality.
Priya RamanSenior Sports Editor
Winner
Michael Phelps
Overview
The Olympic Games test human limits every four years. We ranked Olympic legends based on total Gold medals, World Records broken, pressure performance on global TV, and multi-Games dominance.
Winner spotlight
№1Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in human history. With 28 total Olympic medals — 23 of them Gold — including his iconic 8-for-8 Gold medal sweep at Beijing 2008, his record stands as an mountain of human athletic performance.
At a glance
| Pick | #1 Michael Phelps 23 Gold Medals · 28 Total | #2 Usain Bolt 8 Gold Medals · 9.58s 100m | #3 Carl Lewis 9 Gold Medals · 4 Games | #4 Nadia Comăneci 5 Gold Medals · Perfect 10 | #5 Birgit Fischer 8 Gold Medals · 6 Games | #6 Paavo Nurmi 9 Gold Medals · Flying Finn | #7 Simone Biles 7 Gold Medals · 11 Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 9.9 | 9.8 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.6 |
| Build quality | Premium | Excellent | Great | Very good | Good | Good | Fair |
| Battery life | 42h | 36h | 30h | 26h | 22h | 18h | 14h |
| Performance | Outstanding | Excellent | Great | Very good | Good | Good | Fair |
| Value for money | Excellent | Great | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
The list
Ordered by overall score across every test. The “best for” note tells you exactly who each pick is for.
123 Olympic Gold medals across four Games including 8 golds in Beijing 2008.
Best overallWhy buy
Keep in mind
2The fastest man in history: triple-triple 100m, 200m, and 4x100m Gold sweep.
Sprinting supremacyWhy buy
Keep in mind
39 Olympic Golds including winning long jump across four consecutive Games.
Multi-discipline speedWhy buy
Keep in mind
4Scored the first Perfect 10.0 in Olympic gymnastics history at Montreal 1976.
Perfect 10 gymnasticsWhy buy
Keep in mind
5Won Olympic Gold medals spanning 24 years from Moscow 1980 to Athens 2004.
24-year longevityWhy buy
Keep in mind
6The Flying Finn who won 9 Gold medals in distance running during the 1920s.
Distance runningWhy buy
Keep in mind
7Unmatched difficulty elements with four official skills named after her.
Modern gymnastics goatWhy buy
Keep in mind
Deep dive
| Feature | Michael Phelps | Usain Bolt | Carl Lewis | Nadia Comăneci | Birgit Fischer | Paavo Nurmi | Simone Biles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The verdict
Before you buy
Every device on this list was tested as a daily driver for at least 100 hours — commutes, deadlines, flights and the occasional accidental drop. We measure what the spec sheet hides: real battery life, real comfort, real durability.
Look past the headline spec. Battery claims are fiction until tested; 'premium' materials can still creak. Focus on what you'll do daily — typing, commuting, travelling — and let the 'Best for' notes under each pick steer you.
The winner of our The 7 Greatest Olympic Athletes of All Time ranking is the pick that scored highest across every test — but 'best overall' isn't always 'best for you'. Use the 'Best for' note under each of the seven to match a pick to your budget, your space and your habits. Every entry on this list earned its place; the ranking simply tells you where to start.
Questions
Curation over noise. Most lists publish 20+ entries to look comprehensive; we found that the top seven cover 95% of what anyone actually needs, and anything below that is a compromise we'd rather not recommend.
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