Paris Olympics 2024 on July 26 kickstarted with a grand opening ceremony and one-of-a-kind 'floating' parade of the nations. Although the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony got mixed reactions from all around, the tournament has started and the world's attention is now on the Olympics 2024. For the unversed, more than 10,000 athletes sailed across the Seine River in a 3.5-mile parade on Friday, kicking off the 2024 Paris Games with a spectacular open-air ceremony that showed off the exuberance of this year's competitors. India has sent a strong 117-member contingent and expects to better its previous record that it achieved during the Tokyo Olympics. Now, the question arises which athlete has won the maximum number of medals in the Olympics to date? And, which Indian athlete has won the maximum number of Olympic medals? Below is everything you need to know-
Athlete with most number of medals in the Olympics
The answer is Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps is considered the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in the swimming fraternity as he has won the highest number of medals at the Olympics. As per reports, Michael Phelps in his Olympics career has won 23 gold medals, 3 silver & 2 bronze medals. Together the medal tally amounts to 28.
Michael Phelps started his Olympic career at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney at age 15. Four years later, Phelps became a household name, winning eight medals, including six gold and two bronze in Athens. Michael Phelps continued to dominate the waters (swimming) in the coming years. For the unversed, Michael Phelps holds the record for most Olympic gold medals and tying the record for eight medals of any color at a single Games with his haul in 2004.
Michael Phelps bid adieu to competitive swimming after the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he won five gold medals.
Talking about where is Michael Phelps now and what is he doing after retirement, the 39-year-old swimming legend is providing his expertise on swimming as an NBC Sports analyst at the Paris Olympics.
Notably, Michael Phelps has made a guest appearance in multiple American TV shows including Netflix's hit series Suits.
Highest medal winners for India at the Olympics
Talking about India, only three athletes have won multiple medals at the Olympic Games. Norman Pritchard, Sushil Kumar and PV Sindhu. Notably, PV Sindhu is representing India at the Paris Olympics 2024 in Badminton. It is pertinent to mention here that PV Sindhu is the only one who can be the first Indian to win three Olympic medals in individual events if she finishes on the podium in Paris. Apart from Sindhu eyes are also on Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu, etc.
Category-wise, Men’s hockey, with 12 medals including eight golds, is the biggest contributor to India’s Olympic medals tally followed by wrestling with seven medals. During the Tokyo Olympics, India returned with its best-ever haul of seven medals, including one gold, and looks to better its record in Paris.