Gymnast Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (USSR) holds the record for most Olympic medals won by a woman with eighteen, including nine gold, five silver, and four bronze, from 1956 to 1964. Latynina made her Olympic debut at the 1956 Melbourne Games when she was just 21 years old. She won gold in the all-around event despite stiff competition. She placed first in the vault, second on the uneven bars and in the floor exercise and fourth on the balance beam in the apparatus finals. In the team event, she also helped the Soviet Union to victory.
Latynina defended her all-around title and won another gold medal in the team event in the 1960 Rome Olympics. She also won a gold medal in the floor exercise and silver medals on the uneven bars and balancing beam, as well as a bronze medal in the vault. Despite winning seven Olympic gold medals, her will to succeed remained unabated.
For the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Latynina was the favorite. She helped the Soviet Union to the first four positions in the all-around event, giving them a nine-point victory in the team competition. Latynina successfully defended her floor championship, as well as silver medals on the balance beam and uneven bars, and bronze on the vault. Latynina added two more gold medals to her collection at the 1964 Summer Olympics, winning the team event and the floor event for the third time in a row. In the remaining apparatus events, she won silver and two bronze medals, bringing her total Olympic medals to eighteen: nine gold, five silver, and four bronze. Except for the 1956 balance beam, where she finished fourth, she won a medal in every event she competed in.
Latynina is the first woman in Olympic history to win nine gold medals. She is the only female athlete to have held the record for the most Olympic gold medals at some stage in her career. She is also the only woman to win an all-around medal in more than two Olympiads, the only woman to win an individual event (floor exercise) in more than two Olympiads, and one of only three women to win every individual event at either the World Championship or Olympic level in the sport of gymnastics. She is the only female gymnast to win team gold, all-around gold, and an event final gold at the same Olympics twice, in 1956 and 1960.
