The most Olympic gold medals won by a male athlete is 23, achieved by swimmer Michael Phelps (USA) across four Olympic Games from 2004 to 2016.Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, winning six gold medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece;a record-shattering eight golds at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China;and four gold medals at the 2012 Olympics in London, where he won his final race before retirement, the 4 x 100 m medley at the Aquatics Centre on 4 August 2012.Phelps came out of retirement in April 2014 and qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics, winning five gold medals. Three of these came in relay events and two in individual events. The last of these medals was won in the 4 x 100 m medley on 13 August 2016.