The greatest summer Olympic athletes of all time

The Olympic Games in Tokyo are in full swing, and with the whole world getting caught up in the excitement, here is a list of the five greatest summer Olympians of all time.

We’ve contemplated everything from medal hauls to record-breaking efforts to overcoming the odds — and incredibly there’s no room for legends like eight-time gold medalist Usain Bolt, nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis, or Nadia Comaneci, the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics.

5. Paavo Nurmi, Finland, track

Nicknamed the Flying Finn, Nurmi dominated distance running in the 1920s.

He competed in 12 events at the Olympics and won nine golds and three silvers. The peak of his running career came in the sweltering heat of the 1924 games in Paris.

The heat didn’t deter Nurmi, who won all five of his races and returned home with five gold medals. In the 1,500-meter final, Nurmi’s nearest challenger, Ray Watson of the United States, gave up before the last lap. The Finn slowed down, coasted to victory, and still broke the Olympic record by more than three seconds.

Less than two hours later, he went back into the sun to compete in the 5,000-meter final. Nurmi won the race and set another record.

By the time he retired, Nurmi had set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 meters and 20 kilometers.

4. Larisa Latynina, Soviet Union, gymnastics

Latynina has 18 Olympic medals, nine of which are gold. For 48 years, she held the record as the individual with the greatest number of medals and helped establish the Soviet Union as a dominant force in gymnastics.

Latynina went to three games — 1956, 1960, and 1964 — and she remains the most successful female athlete in Olympic history.

Her most successful games came in Melbourne in 1956. Latynina collected gold in the floor exercise, the vault, the all-around event, and in the team competition.

3. Mark Spitz, United States, swimming

Spitz is unfortunately going to be overshadowed by another member of Team USA’s swimming squad, but let’s not forget just how incredible he was at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Although he came into the 1968 games extremely confident, Spitz won just two gold medals, which meant the pressure was ramped up four years later.

But that did not faze Spitz.

He won seven golds and set seven world records in an incredible display of dominance. Spitz won and broke the record for the 200-meter butterfly, 4x100 freestyle relay, 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 4x200 freestyle relay, 100 freestyle, and the 4x100 medley relay.

Spitz has 11 Olympic medals and nine golds.

2. Michael Phelps, United States, swimming

Sorry Spitz, but here is the Baltimore Bullet, Michael Phelps.

The most decorated Olympian of all time, Phelps has 28 medals, with 23 in gold. No other athlete has that many medals or that many golds, no other athlete has won as many individual events as Phelps, and no other athlete can come close to what he did at the 2008 games in Beijing.

Phelps won eight gold medals — which bested Spitz’s long-held record — and cemented himself as one of the greatest Olympians. His seventh gold was the most dramatic, as he defeated Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter butterfly by just one hundredth of a second. Phelps also set seven world records in Beijing.

He appeared at four games (2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016) and won at least four gold medals in each.

1. Jesse Owens, United States, track and field

The 1936 games in Munich were designed by Adolf Hitler to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany, and government officials hoped German athletes would dominate.

Owens originally looked set to boycott the Olympics, because of the discrimination in Germany, but he decided to compete and came back to the U.S. with four gold medals and international fame. He won the 100 meters, the 200, the 4x100 relay, and the long jump.

He was the most successful athlete at the 1936 games and helped to crush Hitler’s myth about a dominant race.

Owens may not be the most decorated Olympian, but the context of his achievements towers over all.