SOYOUWANNA THE TEN PEOPLE WHO WON THE MOST MEDALS AT THE SUMMER OLYMPICS

They give out a lot of medals at the Summer Olympics. With the latest addition to the roster for the 2000 Olympics, "gymnastic trampoline," it wouldn't be that strange if they began tossing a few medals out to the spectators in the near future. But as always, there are always those few athletes who not only win, but win a lot. Think of this list as a tribute to those who never got their chance to appear on a Wheaties box.

As you'll see from our list, there are two apparent common factors among most of the top medal winners: being a boy and being a gymnast. Also, aside from a couple of swimmers, Americans are conspicuously absent from this list. Even Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, each with four medals in a single Olympic year, didn't make the cut. We'll revisit this list after the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but until then, relish the Olympic glory of these amazing athletes.

1. MEDALISTS 10 - 8

Born in Prague, young Vera began as a figure skater, but switched to gymnastics at the wizened age of 15. One of her first major events was the 1962 World Championships, at which she placed a close second to Larissa Latynina, a name you'll see again in our list.

Caslavska went on to achieve many other triumphs in the gymnastics world, but none quite as spectacular as her last Olympics in 1968. She won gold medals in combined exercises, uneven bars, floor exercise, and vault, and she racked up a couple of silver medals as well, just making it onto our list in the last major event of her career.

9. Matt Biondi - 11 Medals, 8 Gold
Country: United States
Sport: Swimming

One of only two Americans to really rake in the medals, Biondi was born in Moraga, California. Urban legend states that Biondi swam across a large body of water to get to and from school each day-against the current in both directions! He competed in three Olympics: 1984 (Los Angeles), 1988 (Seoul), and 1992 (Barcelona).

In the 1988 Olympics, he became only the second swimmer to earn 7 medals in one Olympiad, the other being Mark Spitz. (Ya gotta love that segue)

8. Mark Spitz - 11 Medals, 9 Gold
Country: United States
Sport: Swimming

Speaking of Mark Spitz, this native Californian swimmer is famous for having won 7 gold medals at the 1972 summer games in Munich. His first Olympics was actually in 1968, though he didn't perform up to his capabilities. In the interim before the next games, he went to Indiana University and won several NCAA and National championships, and then went over to Munich to really show them how it was done.

After his 1968 triumph, Spitz retired from swimming until 1992, when he tried (unsuccessfully) to qualify for the 1992 summer games. He shoulda left well enough alone.

2. MEDALISTS 7 - 5

A member of the dominant Japanese men's gymnastic team of the 60s and 70s, Kato was born in the Niigata prefecture in Japan. His first Olympics was in 1968, where he won gold in the combined and floor exercises, as well as bronze in the rings, and team gold overall. In 1972 and 1976 Kato grabbed some more gold. In 1992, Kato made an amazing reappearance, as a stoned houseguest offering testimony at the O.J. Simpson trial.

6. Paavo Nurmi - 12 Medals, 9 Gold
Country: Finland
Sport: Track & Field

Apart from having a Pokemon named after him, Paavo was a famous Finnish track and field star of the roaring 20s, known as the "Flying Finn." He was born in the town of Abo, and was the first runner prepare by timing his laps (to run at a consistent speed). He competed in the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympics and won his share of medals, as you can see.

An interesting story about old Nurmi is that after winning gold in his specialty (the 10,000 meters) in 1920, the Finnish officials wouldn't let him run that race in 1924 because they had another Finn they wanted to win . . . who then won. Nurmi was back in 1928, however, and took the gold back. Trivia tie-breaker: he also carried the torch at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

5. Takashi Ono - 13 Medals, 5 Gold
Country: Japan
Sport: Gymnastics

Part of the aforementioned Japanese dominance of men's gymnastics, Ono was born in Noshiro City, Japan, and had his first success in gymnastics at the age of 18, winning the National High school championship. Fortunately, he went on to win slightly more prestigious competitions.

His first Olympics was in 1952 in Helsinki. Nurmi trotted out with the torch, Ono won one bronze medal, and then he went back home to Japan. It was during the 1956 Melbourne games that Ono really hit his stride, winning five gold medals, including one at his specialty, the horizontal bar. More medals would follow in 1960 and 1964, but he is best known for the move that bears his name, the "Ono" - which is still being used in horizontal bar competition today - and, of course, for breaking up the Beatles.

3. MEDALISTS 4 - 2

4. Edoardo Mangiarotti - 13 Medals, 6 Gold
Country: Italy
Sport: Fencing

Mangiarotti was born in Renate, Italy to a father who was a renowned fencer himself. A natural right-hander, he learned to fence as a lefty because his father believed it would be an advantage in competition. Mangiarotti went on to an amazing 40-year career in fencing which began at the 1936 Olympics at the age of 17, helping to secure a team gold for Italy, and continued past his final summer games in 1960, where he won individual medals as well as team honors. Touché!

3. Boris Shakhlin - 13 Medals, 7 Gold
Country - USSR
Sport: Gymnastics

Boris was a true Russian for his times. A national celebrity because of his success in international gymnastics, he was also a longtime member of the Communist Party, beginning in 1964 after his last Olympics, and was awarded the Order of Lenin. He won a buttload of medals, including golds for his specialty, the pommel horse. After retiring from competition in 1964, Shakhlin went on to become a judge in international competition.

2. Nikolay Andrianov - 15 Medals, 7 Gold
Country - USSR
Sport: Gymnastics

Because we haven't had enough of them, Andrianov is yet another gymnast who won a ton of medals. Born in Vladimir, Russia, Andrianov began his career at the relatively late age of 12. He made his first foray into the Olympics at Munich in 1972, where he won his first gold. He then won 7 medals at Montreal in 1976. Piece o' cake.

Coming back home to Mother Russia for the Moscow Olympics of 1980, he continued his winning ways, garnering 2 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medal. He is a three-time world champ, and was the first person to land the triple somersault dismount in competition. We have no idea why this is any more or less insane than all the other things these people do, but gymnasts apparently believe that it is quite significant.

4. THE WINNER OF THE MOST MEDALS AT THE SUMMER OLYMPICS

1. Larissa Latynina - 18 Medals, 9 Gold
Country - USSR
Sport: Gymnastics

Finally we have the winning-est Summer Olympian in history - another tiny gymnast who probably weighed 80 pounds soaking wet, but considerably more when wearing all her medals at once. Born in Kherson in the Ukraine and educated at Kiev State Institute, Latynina originally trained as a ballet dancer. In what can only be described as a very good decision, she switched to gymnastics, and an Olympic career in which she would go on to win 9 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals.

In 1956, 1960 and 1964, she won the floor exercise and the team competition. In addition, she won the all-around competition in 1956 and 1960. After she retired from competition, she went on to coach future successful Russian gymnastics teams, and she also helped to plan the 1980 Summer Olympic games in Moscow.