Jewish World Records emblemJewish World Records
Back to all records
JWR VerifiedFounding RecordJWR-2026-000039

Most Medals Won at a Single Summer Olympics by a Jewish Woman

Record holder

Maria GorokhovskayaPerson

Record value

7 medals — Helsinki 1952 — 2 gold, 5 silver

Country represented: Soviet UnionAchievement location: Helsinki, FinlandAchievement date: 1952Current record

Challenge this record

Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Soviet Union Olympic team entering Helsinki Olympic Stadium at the 1952 Summer Olympics

The Soviet Union Olympic team enters Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 19 July 1952. Maria Gorokhovskaya went on to win seven gymnastics medals at these Games.Olympia-kuva Oy / Helsinki City Museum / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY 4.0

Official record definition

The greatest verified total number of official medals won by a female athlete satisfying the JWR Jewish Eligibility Standard at a single edition of the Summer Olympic Games.

Measurement methodology

total official medals won by one female athlete at a single Summer Olympic Games, verified against authoritative record and Jewish-sports sources

Measurement point: Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympic Games

Record story

Maria Gorokhovskaya set the record for the Most Medals Won at a Single Summer Olympics by a Jewish Woman at the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympic Games. Representing the Soviet Union, she achieved a total of '7 medals — Helsinki 1952 — 2 gold, 5 silver'. Gorokhovskaya won a medal in all seven women’s gymnastics events contested at the Games. She earned gold medals in the individual all-around and the team competition, complemented by five silver medals in the floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and the team portable-apparatus event.

This total of seven medals is independently confirmed by Guinness World Records as the most Olympic medals won by any female athlete at a single edition of the Games. Because Gorokhovskaya holds the overall women's record and also satisfies Jewish eligibility standards, no other Jewish woman can have exceeded her achievement. The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame also recognises her seven-medal performance at Helsinki.

Media

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
1 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

Maria Gorokhovskaya won seven official gymnastics medals at the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics: two gold and five silver. Guinness World Records independently confirms seven as the women's single-Games Olympic medal record.

Superiority evidence

Because seven is also the general women's single-Games Olympic medal record and Gorokhovskaya satisfies JWR Jewish eligibility, no Jewish woman can exceed her total. JWR's Jewish-women counter-search found no equal Jewish co-holder beyond Gorokhovskaya.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Maria Gorokhovskaya | International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame — International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • Most Olympic medals won at a single Games (female) — Guinness World Records

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

Related records

  • Mark Spitz in 2018Mark Spitz
  • Full 1957 USSR gymnastics postage stamp based on a photograph of Maria GorokhovskayaMaria Gorokhovskaya
JWR VerifiedFounding Record
Sports / Summer Olympic Gamesmost / joint holders

Most Medals Won at a Single Summer Olympics by a Jewish Athlete

Record holder

Mark Spitz&Maria Gorokhovskaya

Record value

7 medals at one Summer Olympics each — Mark Spitz and Maria Gorokhovskaya

Mark Spitz and Maria Gorokhovskaya share the record for the most medals won at a single Summer Olympics by a Jewish athlete, with a total of "7 medals at one Summer Olympics each". Gorokhovskaya, a gymnast representing the Soviet Union, achieved her seven-medal haul at the Helsinki 1952 Games. Her performance included two gold medals, in the individual all-around and team events, and five silver medals across floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and team portable apparatus. This feat is confirmed by Guinness World Records.

Country represented
United States & Soviet Union
View full record
Portrait of Olympic canoe champion Leonid Geyshtor.
JWR Verified
Sports · Olympic GamesFirst

First Jewish Olympic Champion in C-2 1,000 m Canoe

Record holder

Leonid Geyshtor (Geishtor)

Record value

Gold — 29 August 1960

Leonid Geyshtor of the Soviet Union became the first Jewish Olympic champion in the men’s C-2 1,000-metre canoe sprint at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games. Competing with Sergey Makarenko, he won the final on 29 August 1960 at Castel Gandolfo, Italy. The pair finished in 4:17.04, recorded by Olympedia as an Olympic best. JWR defines this record specifically for the C-2 1,000-metre event; it does not claim that Geyshtor was the first Jewish Olympic champion in canoeing overall. That distinction matters because canoeing contains multiple boat classes, crew sizes and distances with separate Olympic histories. Jewish sports sources identify Geyshtor as a Jewish Olympic gold medalist, while the event chronology confirms the Soviet pair as the 1960 champions. The measurable record value is therefore their C-2 1,000-metre gold on 29 August 1960.

Country represented
Soviet Union
Achievement location
Castel Gandolfo, Italy
Achievement date
29 August 1960
View full record
Walentin Mankin with the Soviet Olympic sailing team in Riga in 1976.
JWR Verified
Sports · Olympic GamesFirst

First Jewish Olympic Champion in Sailing

Record holder

Walentin Mankin

Record value

Gold — 21 October 1968

Walentin Mankin of the Soviet Union is the First Jewish Olympic Champion in Sailing, an achievement secured on 21 October 1968. Representing his country, he won the Finn class at the Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games. The sailing events were held in Acapulco, where the seven-race competition concluded on this date, with Mankin confirmed as champion by official Olympic results.

Country represented
Soviet Union
Achievement location
Acapulco, Mexico
Achievement date
21 October 1968
View full record