As of the 2008 Olympics Michael Phelps has won 14 gold medals in swimming (16 total medals), second on the list is Raymond Ewry who won a total of 10 gold medals in track & field.
as a sidenote if Michael Phelps wins 3 more medals of any type he will pass Larisa Latynina as the winner of most Olympic medals. Between 1956 & 1964 Ms Latynina won 18 total medals in gymnastics.
The most medals won by a single swimmer at the Olympics is Michel Phelps of the U.S.A. who won a total of eight medals at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing 2008.
Michael Phelps 8 gold medals
Steve Redgrave (5).
The most successful and decorated Olympic athlete as of 2014 is Michael Phelps. He has 22 Olympic medals with 18 being gold medals.
Through the 2008 Games in Beijing, that is Eduardo Mangiarotti who won 6 gold medals in fencing between 1936-1960.
SwimmingMichael Phelps won 22 medals in Olympic Swimming. He is the most decorated Olympian of all time.Gold - 18 (Olympic record)Silver - 2Bronze - 2
Canada won 14 gold medals in the 2010 Vancouver games - the record for a single Winter games.
Through the 2008 Games in Beijing, that is Halil Mutlu who won 3 gold medals in weightlifting between 1996-2004 and Naim Süleymanoğlu who won 3 gold medals in weightlifting between 1988-1996.
Michael Phelps
Most decorated swimming, most Olympic gold medals all time, and most Olympic Gold medals in a single game.
Through the 2008 Games, that would be swimmer Penelope Heyns with 2 gold medals. She won gold in the 100 meter breaststroke and 200 meter breaststroke at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
8.
Larissa Latynina