The Olympics is without a doubt sport’s biggest and most prestigious stage. With the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics quickly approaching, the world’s finest athletes gear up in hopes to leave their mark in sporting history in becoming an Olympic great. Clinging an Olympic medal is what majority of athletes dream of, only the best of the best have the opportunity to chase sporting brilliance among seasoned veterans, world record holders, world champions and young talents. Since the last two Olympic games in Rio and Tokyo, the world has seen the retirement of some of the most celebrated sporting legends like Micheal Phelps and Usain Bolt. This allows the future generation of trailblazers to make their marks in history and with them already achieving highly decorated status, it will be exhilarating to see what they can achieve in the upcoming Olympics. In addition to young highly decorated talents, some of the sporting legends return this year, determined to remain dominant forces in their field. From the Olympic greats to the young talents, LUXUO has gathered a list of the most highly decorated athletes to watch for in the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

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Isabell Werth: 12 Olympic Medals

Isabell Werth is one of the most successful dressage equestrian riders in the history of the sport, boasting a whopping number of 12 Olympic medals, of which seven are gold. Hailing from Germany, the legendary equestrian rider started her career when she was just 17 years old, learning the trade tricks from renowned trainer Dr Uwe Schulten-Baumer. Her feats in competitive dressage equestrian flourished, winning gold medals in all six Olympic games from 1992 to 2020, making her the world’s most decorated athlete in her sport. Her partnership with a noble steed named Gigolo took the sport to new heights. The well-suited pair worked in perfect harmony to display flawless routines, winning them four Olympic golds between 1992 to 2000, four world titles and another five European crowns. The brilliant pairing is the sport’s highest-achieving pairing to this day. Werth and her 10-year-old horse Wendy de Fontane are set to compete in her seventh Olympic games after resounding success at the CDIO5* Grand Prix Special.

Emma Mckeon: 11 Olympic Medals

Emma Mckeon is the most decorated Australian in Olympic history with a total of 11 medals in just two participations. Born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Mckeon comes from a family of competitive swimmers, with her immediate family gracing the world’s most prestigious sporting events like the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Emma is no different, participating in her first Olympics at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, winning a total of 4 medals and another four medals in the Rio Olympics. In the previous Tokyo Games, the Australian made Olympic history, winning four gold medals and three bronze, bringing up her tally to a whopping seven medals in a single Olympics. Her athletic prowess and technical skill brought her to success, earning her the title of the first female swimmer and first Australian to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games. Mckeon is set to hang up her Olympic swim cap after revealing that the upcoming appearance in Paris is her last before she retires from competitive swimming.

Katie Ladeky: 10 Olympic Medals

Katie Ladeky is one of the most celebrated American athletes of today and is shaping up to be one of the world’s swimming legends with an impressive track record of 10 Olympic medals, with seven of them being gold. The star gained prominence from a very young age after she stunned the world by winning 800m freestyle gold at the London 2012 Olympics when she was just 15 years old. Ledeky started the sport as a six-year-old child and has undoubtedly flourished ever since, breaking several long-standing American records and earning an athletic scholarship to attend the prestigious Ivy League Stanford University. At 27 years old, she holds the world record for the 800m and 1500m freestyle and is the most decorated swimmer in history, which was earned by her Olympic wins and 21 world championships. With her brilliant success in Olympic qualifying and consistent track record, she is one to watch in this upcoming Paris Olympics.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: 8 Olympic Medals

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is widely recognised as one of the athletics greats. Hailing from Jamaica, the sprinter has had great success in her four Olympic participations, with eight medals across the 100m, 200m sprint and the 4x100m relay race. Her Olympic journey began in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she made history as the first Caribbean woman to clinch a 100m gold. Alongside the excellent and highly decorated Usain Bolt, the two-track stars significantly contributed to their nation’s status in the world of athletics, being champions on the sport’s biggest stage. Since her historic win in Beijing, Fraser-Pryce continued to be victorious in London, defending her title with another gold medal. Later, she clinched a Bronze medal in Rio and a silver medal in Tokyo. The Jamaican relay team of sprint stars also won her four more titles. Additionally, she has won more individual titles than any other female in history, making her a significant dominant force in the sporting world. Fraser-Pryce has decided that the 2024 Paris Olympics will be her fifth and final Olympic games, retiring to fulfil her desire to focus on her family.

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Caeleb Dressel: 7 Olympic Medals

American Caeleb Dressel is one of the world’s most brilliant star swimmers, with multiple wins at his summer games appearances. With just two Olympic participations in Rio and Tokyo, Dressel has already achieved seven gold medals and holds the world’s fastest time for the 50m freestyle. Following in Michael Phelps’ strokes, Dressel’s previous results display his dominance in multiple categories, his versatility making him a favourite for at least seven different races at this year’s Olympics. More recently, at the U.S Olympic trials, the versatile swimmer unsurprisingly secured multiple spots on the national team, winning the 50m freestyle and the 100m butterfly and a place in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay.

Simone Biles: 7 Olympic Medals

Simone Biles is inarguably one of the most recognisable American athletes of our time; she has been widely considered one of the gymnastics all-time greats and is the most decorated gymnast in history, which includes her success at Olympic games and world championships. Biles began her sporting journey at the age of six, achieving well beyond her years and competing at the national level when she was in her early teens but was too young to qualify for the 2012 London Games. Four years later, Biles shocked the world with her flawless performance in the 2016 Rio Olympics, clinching four gold medals and one bronze. Additionally, she made her mark in gymnastics history, introducing the world to the now-famous “Biles” move. The showstopping floor exercise move consisted of a double layout with a half twist, now cemented into gymnastics history as reported by Team USA. With her extensive collection of 30 worldwide titles and seven Olympic medals, it is safe to say Biles is one to watch in this upcoming Paris Games.

Charlotte Dujardin: 6 Olympic Medals

Charlotte Dujardin is a British dressage rider and a dominant player in the world of equestrian. The perfect pairing of Dujardin and her mount Valegro made their Olympic debut in the London 2012 games with resounding success clinching the individual and team gold for dressage and later defended the prestigious title and a team silver at the Rio Olympics. After the retirement of the award-winning Valegro, Dujardin took on the Tokyo games with Gio clinching and the individual and team bronze, bringing her medal tally up to six. She was briefly Great Britain’s most decorated female athlete before cyclist Laura Kenny clinched he fourth gold medal. With determination to stay dominant in the equestrian world and her dazzling career, Dujardin is set to compete in her fourth Olympics with solid hopes to reclaim the title of Great Britain’s most decorated female athlete.

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Lisa Carrington: 6 Olympic Medals

Hailing from New Zealand, Lisa Carrington is her nation’s most decorated athlete with six Olympic medals under her belt — five gold and one bronze as a canoe sprint racer. In addition to great success in the Canoe Sprint World Championships, Carrington won three consecutive gold medals in the women’s K-1 200m event in the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. In addition to the K-1 200m event, she also won a bronze medal in Rio and won the gold in Tokyo for the K-2 500m, with teammate Caitlin Regal and in the individual K-1 500m event. Her historical wins earned her the title of the first New Zealand female to win multiple medals at the same Olympic games. Carrington is ready for more success this year in her fourth Olympic games, leading the team and contesting all three disciplines at the K1, K2 and K4 events.

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