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Here are some of the great Winter Olympic Games athletes. While being very successful, many of these athletes are relatively unknown around the world, compared to the more popular Summer Olympic athletes.

• Marit Bjoergen - Female cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen from Norway is regarded as the most successful athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics with 15 medals (8 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze).
• Ole Bjoerndalen - Bjoerndalen is a biathlete from Norway. He is the most successful Winter Olympics male athlete, having won a total of 13 medals (8 of them gold).
• Bjørn Dæhlie - Norweigian Dæhlie is the most successful male cross-country skier in history, having won 12 medals (8 gold, 4 silver) between 1992 and 1998.
• Sonja Henie from Norway won three consecutive gold medals in figure skating, winning the first at the St Moritz Winter Olympics in 1928 at the age of 15.
• Clas Thunberg from Finland won 7 medals (5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze) in figure skating
• Matti Nykänen from Finland won 5 medals (5 gold and 1 silver) in ski jumping.
• Shaun White a five-time Winter Olympian and a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding. He holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals by a snowboarder.
• Sven Kramer. The Dutch long track speed skating legend won the Olympic 5000m at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics (he was second in 2006 and 9th in 2022).
• Ireen Wüst, a Dutch long track speed skater, was the first athlete to win an individual event at five consecutive Olympic Games (2006-2022). She is the seventh person to win a gold medal in five consecutive Olympics, but all the others competed in team events.
• Claudia Pechstein - was a five time Olympic champion in speed skating, and in 2022 competed in her 8th Winter Olympics. She is the oldest female to compete at the Winter Olympics, aged 49 years 348 days.

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Related Pages

• Medal Tally — top lists of athlete's medals won.
• First Winter Olympic Gold Medal Winners — over 40 countries have won at least one gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
• The youngest and oldest medal winners at the Winter Olympics
• Summer Olympic athletes.