Top 10 athletes with most appearances at the Summer Olympics

Published at :August 18, 2024 at 6:30 PM

Modified at :August 18, 2024 at 6:30 PM

(Courtesy : Popsugar/Olympics)

These sportspeople have etched their name in the quadrennial event’s history.

Brazil’s 43-year-old football star Formiga etched herself into the history books by becoming the footballer with most Olympics appearances. The midfielder has made seven appearance and has appeared in every edition of the event since its addition in 1996. However, she is still significantly behind the overall top spot.

Let’s take a look at athletes with most Olympic appearances:

10. d’Inzeo brothers- 8 each

The invincible brothers of Italian equestrianism were a regular sight on the podium during their eight appearances. The duo stole the show as a team, winning one silver and three bronze medals in 1956,1960,1964 and 1972.

Piero won the bronze in Stockholm and silver in Rome in the individual event, while Raimondo won the silver and gold in 1956 and 1960 respectively. The duo competed in every summer games from 1948 -1976.

9. Rajmond Debevec- 8

**Debevec won a bronze at his last Olympics in 2012 (Courtesy: ESPN)**

Slovenian shooter Debevec was the flag-bearer of his country’s first official representation at the Games. Rajmond had previously featured twice at the Olympics for Yugoslavia, before representing Slovenia at six more Games.

He won the gold at the 50m rifle 3 positions in Sydney and eight years later won the bronze. At London, he signed off from his last Summer Games with a bronze in the 50m prone event. He made eight consecutive appearances from 1984 to 2012.

8. Paul Elvstrom- 8

Danish sailing phenomenon Paul Elvstrom is no scrub. The Danish Sportsman of the 20th century won four gold medals, while making eight appearances at the Olympics. He won four gold medals at his first four Olympics, winning in the Firefly class in 1948 and in the Finn class from 1952 to 1960.

Elvstrom also won 20 world titles and went on to make four more appearances at the Olympics, in 1968, 1972, 1984 and 1988.

7. Francisco Boza- 8

Peruvian Boza is the only person from South America to have competed at eight or more Olympics. The shooter made his first appearance at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and made seven consecutive appearances till the Athens edition in 2004.

He then qualified for the 2016 Rio Games after a break of 12 years and was Peru’s flag-bearer at Rio. He has won only one medal despite his numerous appearances. Boza won the silver in the trap shooting event at the 1984 Los Angeles edition.

6. Josefa Idem Guerrini- 8

**Guerrini has appeared in eight Olympics (Courtesy: New York Times)**

Rower Josefa Idem started her Olympic career representing West Germany. She won the bronze in 1984 in the K-2 500m event. She switched to Italy after her marriage to Gugliemo Guerrini.

Representing Italy, Josefa won four more medals all in the K-1 500m event. The canoeing star won the bronze in 1996, before clinching top spot in Sydney four years later. She had to settle for second place in both 2004 and 2008. She appeared in all Olympics from 1984 to 2012.

5. Lesley Thompson- 8

Canadian rower Lesley Thompson has made eight appearances in two sets. She appeared in all Olympics from 1984 to 2000, before returning for the last three Olympics. The 61-year-old has won five medals in those eight appearances, including a gold in 1992 in the women’s eight competition.

She won the silver in the same event in Atlanta 1996 and London 2012 and bronze in Sydney 2000. Her fifth medal was a silver in the coxed four event in Los Angeles in 1984.

4. Afanasijs Kuzmins- 9

74-year-old Kuzmins’ last Olympics was the London edition held in 2012. He has come a long way since his first Olympic appearance in Montreal, Canada in 1976. He was placed fourth in the 25m rapid fire pistol and finished sixth four years later.

The Latvian shooter represented Soviet Union at the 1988 Olympics when he clinched the gold. He won a silver for Latvia four years later. He has since finished 10th, 8th, 14th, 13th and 17th from 1996 to 2012.

3. Hubert Raudaschl -9

**Raudaschl made nine consecutive appearances from 1968 to 2000 (Courtesy: Salzburger Nachrichten)**

Austrian sailor Raudaschl is one of the few athletes in this list who managed to make appearances at consecutive Olympics. He won two medals during his nine appearances from 1968 to 2000.

One silver came in the Finn Class in 1968. The second medal was obtained at the 1980 edition in Moscow when he finished second in the Star Class discipline.

2. Nino Salukvadze- 10

Nino started out as a Soviet Union shooter at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She won the gold medal in the 25 meter pistol and silver in the 10 m air pistol. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, she represented the Unified Team at the 1992 Olympics, but failed to win any medals. Nino represented Georgia at the Olympics in the next six editions, winning a bronze in the 10 meter air pistol event in Beijing.

1. Ian Millar -10

Canadian Ian Millar is the proud holder of the title of most appearances at the Olympics. “Captain Canada,” as he is known around equestrian circles started competing in Olympics since the 1972 Munich edition and competed in all but one Olympics from 1972 to 2012. Millar did not compete at the 1980 edition owing to the boycott.

The Equestrian phenom has come agonizingly close to medals several times, finishing fourth and fifth twice in the team jumping event. Millar won his sole Olympic medal in Beijing, when he was placed second in the team jumping event.

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