Top 5 most successful female gymnasts of all time ft. Simone Biles, Larysa Latynina

Modified Jul 13, 2024 19:57 GMT

Gymnastics, both at the Olympics and the World Championships, has been dominated by athletes from the Soviet Union and, after its breakup, by Russians and Romanians. American gymnasts started taking the fight in the 1980s, and the 1996 Olympic Games saw the USA win its first team gold thanks to the ‘Magnificent Seven’ and Marta and Bella Karolyi.

Though Karolyi’s training methods were controversial, they propelled American gymnastics to where it is today, the most dominant on the international stage. However, despite Simone Biles' phenomenal achievements, the top ten list of most decorated gymnasts remains largely dominated by Russians.

Here, we look at the top-5 most successful gymnasts of all time:

Top five most successful gymnasts of all time

#5 Gina Gogean

Gina Gogean is the fifth most successful female gymnast of all time (Photo-Getty)

Gina Gogean is a Romanian gymnast who competed during the 1990s. She won five Olympic medals—two silver and three bronze—during her career. Gogean’s major success came at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where she won 15 medals, including nine gold medals.

#4 Ludmilla Tourischeva

Ludmilla Tourischeva has 20 medals from the Olympic and World Championships (Photo-Getty)

Ludmilla Tourischeva is one of the greatest female gymnasts from the Soviet Union who dominated the 1960s and 1970s. She won a staggering nine Olympic medals in her career, a haul that includes four gold, three silver, and two bronze medals. Tourischeva was crowned World Champion seven times during her gymnastics career, while also winning two silver and bronze medals each.

#3 Svetlana Khorkina

Svetlana Khorkina has 27 medals from the Olympic and World Championships (Photo-Getty)

Svetlana Khorkina is the third most successful female gymnast in history. Her combined medal tally from the Olympics and World Championships is a staggering 27. The Russian icon secured two gold, four silver, and one bronze medal at the Olympics. In the World Championships, Khorkina was crowned champion on nine occasions. She also has eight world silver and three bronze medals to her name.

#2 Larisa Latynina

Larisa Latynina (L) is the second most successful female gymnast of all time (Photo-Getty)

Larisa Latynina is the greatest gymnast of the Soviet Union era. She has won a staggering 32 medals, 18 of which came at the Olympic Games. Latynina has a record nine Olympic titles to her name, along with five silver and four bronze medals. She was crowned the world champion nine times, also winning four silver and one bronze medal during her gymnastics career, which ran from 1954 to 1966.

#1 Simone Biles

Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time (Photo-Getty)

Simone Biles is arguably the greatest gymnast the world has ever seen and the most decorated as well, both among men and women. She has seven Olympic medals to her name, four of which are gold. Biles has been crowned the world champion a record 23 times between 2013 to 2024. The American's combined tally of 37 medals from both competitions is phenomenal, and with her ongoing dominance, surpassing 50 medals before retirement wouldn't be a surprise.