Which Paralympians Have Won the Most Medals?

As the 2024 Summer Paralympics unfolded in Paris, American swimmer Jessica Long captured two more gold medals in the 400-metre freestyle S8 and 100-metre butterfly S8, vaulting herself into a tie for third place on the all-time Paralympic medal leaderboard. Long, who had her lower legs amputated at 18 months old because of fibular hemimelia, now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with history’s greatest Paralympians.

At the summit sits Trischa Zorn, the visually impaired swimmer from Orange, California, whose 55 medals remain the benchmark. Blind since birth, Zorn collected her haul across seven Games from 1980 to 2004, becoming the first visually impaired athlete to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship and a four-time All-American at Nebraska. She entered the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2022.

Swiss legend Heinz Frei, paraplegic since a 1978 accident, is the only athlete on the list to earn medals in both Summer and Winter editions. Frei competed in athletics at every Summer Paralympics from 1984 to 2008, added hand-cycling medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and raced in cross-country sit-skiing from 1984 through 2006, plus biathlon in 1994. At the Tokyo 2020 road race he took silver at age 63.

Israel’s Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum, who contracted polio at four, medalled in every event she entered at the 1964 Tokyo Games—five in total—spanning shot put, swimming, discus, javelin and table tennis. She ultimately represented Israel at seven Summer and Winter Paralympics in athletics, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair basketball.

Great Britain’s Sarah Storey, originally a swimmer, has amassed 17 gold medals over eight Paralympics, beginning with two golds, three silvers and a bronze in Barcelona 1992. After switching to cycling in 2008, she added 12 more golds on the track and road, including two at the Paris Games in the women’s road race C4-5 and road trial C5 events.

Sweden’s Jonas Jacobsson, who has used a wheelchair since birth, is the most successful male Paralympian and the most decorated shooter in history. Competing in 10 consecutive Games from 1980 to 2016, he captured 17 gold medals, the last in the 50-metre rifle 3 positions SH1 at London 2012 before retiring at 51 after Rio 2016.

With Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo set to host the 2026 Winter Paralympics from 6–15 March, the legacy of these champions continues to inspire the next generation of athletes aiming to climb the medal standings.