9

Asking this question I was thinking about the longest gold medal streak for a nation in a speciality.

So it mean both summer and winter Olympic games and also for team or individual speciality.

For individual is allowed also if an athlete from a Country wins the gold medal following another athlete coming from the same Country

4

2 Answers 2

14

This is a community wiki answer. Feel free to update post, if needed, or add more streaks, especially if they are longer than the ones already listed. (Ideally with some reference.)

Streaks of at least 10 gold medals

  • A USA athlete won the gold medal in the men's pole vault in the first 16 Summer Olympic Games. This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • Soviet/Russian competitors won 12 consecutive gold medals in figure skating - pairs at Winter Olympics from 1964 to 2006. This record is listed in Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • A USA athlete won the gold medal in the 3m springboard in 11 consecutive Summer Olympic Games from 1920 to 1950. This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • USA team won 10 consecutive Olympic golds in 4x100m medley relay from 1984 to 2020. USA won this discipline on all Olympic Games where this discipline featured, with the exception of the boycott of 1980 Moscow Olympics. If we exclude the boycotted games, this would be 14 consecutive gold medals (i.e., all Olympic Games where this discipline featured). This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • A Kenyan athlete won the 3000 m Steeplechase at 9 consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2016. This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks. The streak ended in 2020, when Soufiane El Bakkali from Morocco won this discipline. However, if we do not count the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games - where Kenya did not participate - we get to total of 11 gold medals. See Fillet's answer for more details.

Ongoing streaks of at least 6 gold medals

  • A Chinese competitor won the women's singles competition in table tennis at 9 consecutive Olympic Games from 1988 to 2020. This means that a Chinese competitor has won this discipline each time it has featured in the Olympics so far. This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • A Chinese competitor won the women's 3m springboard at 9 consecutive Olympic Games from 1988 to 2020.
  • South Korean team won women's archery team competition at 9 consecutive Olympic Games from 1988 to 2020. That is, they won gold at all Olympics where this discipline was part of the program. This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • USA team won women's 4x400m relay at 7 consecutive Olympics from 1996 to 2020. This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • USA team won women's basketball tournament 7 consecutive Olympics from 1996 to 2020. This streak is also listed in the Wikipedia article on winning streaks.
  • A German competitor won gold medal in women's singles luge at 6 consecutive Winter Olympics from 1998 to 2018.
  • China won synchronized 10 metre platform at 6 consecutive Olympic Games from 2000 to 2020 - each time when this event was featured.
  • A competitor from Great Britain won one-person heavyweight dinghy at 6 consecutive Olympic Games from 2000 to 2020.
  • Russia won both duet and team in synchronized swimming at 6 consecutive Olympic Games from 2000 to 2020.
0
7

Maybe there is more somewhere, but any nation will have done very well to beat the Kenyan streak in the 3000m Men's Steeplechase.

The last non-Kenyan to win the race was the Pole Bronisław Malinowski in 1980. Since then 8 different Kenyans have won 9 gold medals in a row.

  • 2016 Conseslus Kipruto (new Olympic record)

  • 2012 Ezekiel Kemboi

  • 2008 Brimin Kipruto

  • 2004 Ezekiel Kemboi

  • 2000 Reuben Kosgei

  • 1996 Joseph Keter

  • 1992 Matthew Birir

  • 1988 Julius Kariuki

  • 1984 Julius Korir

As a side note, Kenya didn't appear in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, due to the US-led boycott, and also didn't appear in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, due to African disquiet about the partially ineffective boycott of Apartheid-era South Africa. They had previously won the 1968 and 1972 Steeplechase races too. So not since 1964 have a Kenyan team appeared at the Olympics and failed to take home the Gold medal for Steeplechase.

1
  • I mentioned this in my preview for the steeplechase on the IAAF site. Among the finalists only one - then-defending champion Ezekiel Kemboi, the eventual bronze medalist - has been alive in a world where a Kenyan wasn't the reigning Olympic steeplechase champion. (Kemboi was born in 1982.)
    – pjmorse
    Sep 30, 2016 at 15:53

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.