The Most Dominant Athletes in the World Are Women
The best storylines of the Paris Games have been about female athletes. We’ve watched the gworls break records, continue winning streaks, and compete at the highest level. These eight iconic Olympians aren’t just talented in their respective sports but are genuinely some of the most dominant athletes in the world.
Simone Biles
Sport: Gymnastics
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Only Simone Biles could lead off this list. She became America’s most decorated gymnastics Olympian after securing three gold medals and one silver. Biles has five skills named after her and is also the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history, with 30 medals to her name.
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Although it remains to be seen if she will shoot for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, regardless of where Biles’s career ends, it’ll be one of the most dominant athletic careers of all time.
Valarie Allman
Sport: Discus
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Valarie Allman is, quite simply, the discus queen. After winning the Tokyo and Paris games, she became the first discus thrower to win back-to-back gold medals. Allman holds the American record in discus, with a distance of 71.46m. But that’s not all - Allman also owns the next eleven farthest discus throws in American history. It’s Val Allman’s world; we’re just living in it.
Sydney mclaughlin-levrone
Sport: Track & Field
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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone only knows how to win. Indeed — she hasn’t lost in the 400m hurdles since 2019. To fully understand McLaughlin-Levrone’s dominance, take this insane fact: her personal best in the 400m hurdles is faster than the entire field of competitors in her Olympic semifinal heat’s personal bests in the regular 400m. Even if everyone else ran without hurdles, McLaughlin-Levrone could still beat them.
McLaughlin-Levrone just completed her Paris quest, winning the gold medal and setting her sixth world record with a time of 50.37 seconds.
Lily zhang
Sport: Table Tennis
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Lily Zhang might just be the most dominant athlete you probably haven’t heard of. Zhang is the table tennis queen, a six-time U.S. National Champion in women’s singles. One of the most impressive aspects of Zhang’s career is her longevity. In 2014, Zhang became the first U.S. athlete to medal in table tennis at the Youth Olympic Games, and Paris marked her fourth Olympics.
Katie Ledecky
Sport: Swimming
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What’s there to say about Katie Ledecky that hasn’t already been said? Ledecky is the most decorated woman in Olympic history, with eight gold, four silver, and one bronze medal. She holds the top 30 fastest times on record in the 800m freestyle and the top 20 times in the 1500m freestyle. Ledecky also owns the world records in both races and has won Olympic medals for every distance from 200m to 1500m. Outside of the Olympics, she also holds 21 World Championship titles. In short, the pool belongs to Katie Ledecky.
olga kharlan
Sport: Fencing
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All Olga Kharlan does is win. As Ukraine’s most decorated Olympian, Kharlan knows a little something about blazing a trail. In 2012, she became the first Ukrainian to win more than one Olympic medal. At the Paris games, Kharlan won a gold medal in team sabre and a bronze medal in the individual event. Her bronze medal didn’t come easily, as Kharlan had to battle back from a six-point deficit to claim the victory. Kharlan’s medal collection also includes 15 World Championship medals.
caroline marks
Sport: Surfing
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In 2018, Caroline Marks burst onto the professional surf scene, placing third in three events and earning Rookie of the Year honors. She hasn’t looked back since, working her way to a silver at the 2019 World Championships and a fourth-place finish at the 2020 Tokyo Games. After taking 2022 off from surfing to focus on her mental and physical health, Marks returned with a vengeance in 2023 and was crowned the World Surf League’s World Tour Champion. Now, at the height of her career, Marks can add gold medalist to her resume. She claimed the USA’s second consecutive gold medal in women’s surfing and broke an Olympic record for gold won furthest away from a main host city.
Arisa Trew
Sport: Skateboarding
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14-year-old Aussie Arisa Trew has taken the skate world by storm. In 2023, Trew became the first woman to land a 720. Trew wasn’t satisfied with just the 720, so the following year, she became the first woman to land a 900, going viral in the process. And now, at just 14 years and 86 days old, Trew has cemented herself in history, becoming Australia’s youngest Olympic medalist ever after winning the Park Skateboarding gold medal. Outside of the Olympics, she owns four X Games gold medals from 2023 and 2024. Trew’s journey is just beginning, and we can’t wait to see what new heights she takes skating to next.