5 Best Olympic Gymnasts In The World

If there is will, there is nothing that can stop a woman from pursuing her dreams. That is what hundreds of women gymnasts have proved to the world, exhibiting sheer skill, flexibility, agility and strength that have earned them gold medals in the Olympics. Since time immemorial, women have made fantastic gymnasts, making their place to the top positions across the world. Listed here are the top 5 women gymnasts of all time who have won the highest number of medals in the Olympics.

* Larisa Latynina

The former artistic gymnast from Soviet Union has won 14 Olympic medals in individual events and 4 medals in team event from 1956 to 1964. Her incredible record of 18 Olympic medals stood unbeaten for 48 years until it was surpassed on 31 July 2012. However, she still holds the glory of holding most medals in individual event. She is the only woman in the world to win all-round medal in more than 2 Olympic games and the only female athlete to win individual event in over 2 Olympics. Latynina was recognized with the most prestigious International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988.

* Nadia Elena Comaneci

The Romanian artistic gymnast is the first woman athlete to achieve a perfect score of 10 in Olympics Gymnastics. She had won 3 gold medals at 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics and had also won 2 gold medals at 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. Comaneci was famed as “Female Athlete of the Year” in 1975 and 1976. The legendary gymnast was honored by the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1993.

* Svetlana Khorkina

One of the most honored female gymnasts of all time, Svetlana Khorkina from Russia has won a total of 7 Olympic medals in 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Besides Olympic appearances, she has also achieved 20 World Championship medals over her span of career. She was the first and only female gymnast to win 3 all-around titles at World Championships. In December 2005, she was named as the Vice President of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation.

* Vera Caslavska

The former Czechoslovakian artistic gymnast is globally recognized as one of the best due to her impressive and astounding stage presence and skill. In her career, she has won a total of 22 international titles, including 7 Olympic gold medals in individual events, an all-time record among women gymnasts. She also bagged two perfect scores of 10 at the 1967 European Championships. She is among the only two women gymnasts to achieve all-around gold medal twice consecutively in Olympics. She was awarded the International Women’s Sport Hall of Fame in 1991 and also received the “Pierre de Coubertin International Fair Play Trophy” from UNESCO.

* Agnes Keleti

The retired artistic gymnast is widely acclaimed by many as one of the most successful Jewish Olympians of all time. She won 10 medals in Olympics, including 5 gold medals in the Summer Olympics. She was also the most successful athlete at the 1956 Summer Olympic Games.