Since it was first held in 1896, a number of athletes have successfully set records at the Olympics. Here are 7 Olympic records that will almost certainly not be broken at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics will open Friday (23/7) after being postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of athletes are predicted to have a chance to set a record at the Tokyo Olympics.
However, there are seven records that will almost certainly not be broken at the Tokyo Olympics.
Quoted from the official Olympic website, here are 7 Olympic records that are impossible to break at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:
1. Athlete with the Most Medals
Legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps is the Olympian with the most medals in history with 28 medals. Amazingly 23 of them are gold medals which is also a record for Olympic gold medals.
As for female athletes, former Soviet Union athlete Larisa Latynina is the most successful female athlete at the Olympics with 18 medals. Latynina among them won nine gold medals, which is a record for a female athlete at the Olympics.
2. Countries with the Most Medals
The United States is the country with the most medals in Olympic history, with 2,522 of which 1,022 are gold medals. The US is far ahead of Russia who has collected 1,556 medals with 590 of them gold medals.
3. Athlete with the Most Medals at One Olympics
Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Phelps won gold medals in all the swimming events he participated in. The record is the most in a single edition of the Olympics.
German swimmer Kristin Otto holds the record in the women’s category by winning six gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The country’s record is held by the United States, which scored a record 83 gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
4. Gold Medal Record in a row in the same event
The Americans Carl Lewis (long jump) and Alfred Oerter (disc throwing) and Denmark’s Paul Elvstrom (sailing) hold the record for winning gold medals in four Olympics in the same event.
Meanwhile, the record for the women’s category is held by a wrestler from Japan, Kaori Icho. In the team event the record is held by Hungarian fencer Aladar Gerevich, who won the gold medal six times in a row.
5. Youngest Athlete to Win a Gold Medal
The record for the youngest athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in individual events is the diving athlete Marjorie Gestring. The American athlete won the gold medal at the 1963 Berlin Olympics at the age of 13 years and 268 days.
As for the men’s category, Japanese swimmer Kusuo Kitamura won the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic gold medal at the age of 14 years and 309 days.
6. Oldest Athlete to Win a Gold Medal
Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn won the gold medal at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics at the age of 72 years and 279 days. While in the women’s category there is Eliza Pollock, the US swimmer who won the 1904 Olympic gold medal at the age of 63 years and 331 days.
7. Appearance Record
Canadian equestrian Ian Millar became the male athlete with the most appearances at the Olympics after appearing from 1972 to 2012 and winning one silver medal. While the Italian canoe athlete, Idem Guerrini, appeared in eight editions of the Olympics from 1984 to 2008 by winning 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze.
