Before London 2012 The combined list (summer+winter Olympics):
1st Unites States
2nd Soviet Union
3rd Germany
4th Italy
5th France
6th Great Britain
7th East Germany
8th Sweden
9th China
10th Hungary
Well, if you look at the number of Olympic medals in relation to the population of the country, which comes out on top?
1th Finland
2nd Sweden
3rd Hungary
france
The United States.
India
The United States.
Germany have the most medals at olympic level, for two-man, four-man, womens, and over-all.
The most successful nation was China, winning five gold medals and 12 in total.
The United States.
Team U.S.A They carry all the superstars you would ever need
The best successful Olympic swimmer is Federica pellegrini, an Italian.
The most successful and decorated Olympic athlete as of 2014 is Michael Phelps. He has 22 Olympic medals with 18 being gold medals.
Brazil is the most successful Nation in the history of Football, having won the world cup 5 Times
2000
the British empire was the most successful by conquering a quarter of the world
Before 1980, India. After 1980 (and the complete introduction of astroturf) the Netherlands. A complete medal table can be found at the related links.
Great Britain is the most successful nation, having racked up the most amount of medals since Olympic sailing started in 1900. The most successful Olympic sailor is Denmark's Paul Elvstrom. He won the first of his four gold medals at consecutive Games in 1948. However, if Great Britain's Ben Ainslie wins Gold at London 2012 he will overtake Elvstrom with one silver and 4 consecutive golds.
China.
Mary Lou Retton