It is often said that an Olympian is unlucky when they finish fourth – see our previous post on “The Unluckiest Olympians” from 18 June 2014. But what about those Olympians who win medals, but never get to mount the top step, winning a gold medal? Which Olympians have won the most Olympic medals, but never won a gold medal? Here is the list of all those with 5 or more Olympic medals, but no golds:

[table]

Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,G,S,B,TM

Franziska van Almsick,F,S,GER,SWI,0,4,6,10

Merlene Ottey-Page,F,S,JAM,ATH,0,3,6,9

Frank Beaurepaire,M,S,ANZ/AUS,SWI,0,3,3,6

Roald Larsen,M,W,NOR,SSK,0,2,4,6

Rintje Ritsma,M,W,NED,SSK,0,2,4,6

Piero D’Inzeo,M,S,ITA,EQU,0,2,4,6

Harri Kirvesniemi,M,W,FIN,CCS,0,0,6,6

Viktor Lisitsky,M,S,URS,GYM,0,5,0,5

Erika Zuchold,F,S,GDR,GYM,0,4,1,5

Anders Holmertz,M,S,SWE,SWI,0,4,1,5

Yang Yang (S),F,W,CHN,STK,0,4,1,5

Miya Tachibana,F,S,JPN,SYN,0,4,1,5

Miho Takeda,F,S,JPN,SYN,0,4,1,5

László Cseh Jr.,M,S,HUN,SWI,0,3,2,5

Anita Moen-Guidon,F,W,NOR,CCS,0,3,2,5

Gustav Fischer,M,S,SUI,EQU,0,3,2,5

Fredric Landelius,M,S,SWE,SHO,0,3,2,5

Østen Østensen,M,S,NOR,SHO,0,3,2,5

Fritz Feierabend,M,W,SUI,BOB,0,3,2,5

Li Jiajun,M,W,CHN,STK,0,2,3,5

Gina Gogean,F,S,ROU,GYM,0,2,3,5

Aino-Kaisa Saarinen,F,W,FIN,CCS,0,2,3,5

William Merz,M,S,USA,GYM,0,1,4,5

Edvin Wide,M,S,SWE,ATH,0,1,4,5

Arianna Fontana,F,W,ITA,STK,0,1,4,5

Phil Edwards,M,S,CAN,ATH,0,0,5,5

Antje Buschschulte,F,S,GER,SWI,0,0,5,5

Arie de Jong,M,S,NED,FEN,0,0,5,5

[/table]

Franziska van Almsick

Very tough for both Franziska van Almsick and Merlene Ottey-Page, and interesting that two women lead the list – and quite easily at that.

There are 11 women and 17 men in the above list, with 9 Winter Olympians, and 19 Summer Olympians. In all, 11 different sports/disciplines are represented, as follows: Athletics, Bobsledding, Cross-Country Skiing, Equestrian, Fencing, Gymnastics, Shooting, Short-Track Speed Skating, Speed Skating, Swimming, and Synchronized Swimming.

What about the goal of winning an individual gold medal and who has come the closest to that without ever winning one? In all 31 Olympians have won 4 or more individual Olympic medals, without ever winning an individual gold. Merlene Ottey-Page leads this list, which is as follows:

[table]

Name,Gdr,Ssn,NOC,Sport,IG,IS,IB,ITM

Merlene Ottey-Page,F,S,JAM,ATH,0,2,5,7

Eizo Kenmotsu,M,S,JPN,GYM,0,3,3,6

Yury Titov,M,S,URS,GYM,0,3,3,6

Roald Larsen,M,W,NOR,SSK,0,2,4,6

Shirley Babashoff,F,S,USA,SWI,0,5,0,5

László Cseh Jr.,M,S,HUN,SWI,0,3,2,5

Uschi Disl,F,W,GER,BIA,0,2,3,5

Sofiya Muratova,F,S,URS,GYM,0,2,3,5

Masao Takemoto,M,S,JPN,GYM,0,2,3,5

Rintje Ritsma,M,W,NED,SSK,0,2,3,5

William Merz,M,S,USA,GYM,0,1,4,5

Hryhoriy Misiutin,M,S,EUN/UKR,GYM,0,4,0,4

Frankie Fredericks,M,S,NAM,ATH,0,4,0,4

Ivica Kostelić,M,W,CRO,ASK,0,4,0,4

Shuji Tsurumi,M,S,JPN,GYM,0,3,1,4

Frank Gailey,M,S,AUS,SWI,0,3,1,4

Adam Małysz,M,W,POL,SKJ,0,3,1,4

Paula Jean Myers-Pope,F,S,USA,DIV,0,3,1,4

Marlies Schild,F,W,AUT,ASK,0,3,1,4

Igor Basinsky,M,S,BLR/URS,SHO,0,2,2,4

Franco Cagnotto,M,S,ITA,DIV,0,2,2,4

Dara Torres,F,S,USA,SWI,0,1,3,4

Pavel Lednyov,M,S,URS,MOP,0,1,3,4

Frank Beaurepaire,M,S,ANZ/AUS,SWI,0,1,3,4

Edvin Wide,M,S,SWE,ATH,0,1,3,4

Teddy Billington,M,S,USA,CYC,0,1,3,4

Ato Boldon,M,S,TTO,ATH,0,1,3,4

Leo Visser,M,W,NED,SSK,0,1,3,4

Yordan Yovchev,M,S,BUL,GYM,0,1,3,4

Yelena Välbe,F,W,EUN/RUS,CCS,0,0,4,4

[/table]

Merlene Ottey-Page

Of the 31, only 8 are women, possibly because there have been fewer Olympic events for women. By seasons, 8 are Winter Olympians and 23 Summer Olympians. There are 12 sports represented in this list, which are slightly different than the first list: Alpine Skiing, Athletics, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Cycling, Diving, Gymnastics, Modern Pentathlon, Shooting, Ski Jumping, Speed Skating, and Swimming.

Of the above, only a few athletes are still competing, and those that are are no longer competitive at the highest levels, so there should be nobody leaving the two lists.