Team Canada’s Most Decorated Winter Olympians

Updated: January 6, 2025

At the foundation of a country’s overall strength at the Olympic Games are the athletes whose performances put them on the podium.

While it may be difficult for most people to even fathom stepping up there once to accept a medal, these athletes have managed to do it multiple times, writing themselves into the Canadian record books.

Who are Canada’s most decorated Winter Olympians?

Charles Hamelin – Short Track Speed Skating – 6 medals (4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Cindy Klassen – Long Track Speed Skating – 6 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)

Representing Canada at five Olympic Winter Games, Charles Hamelin won at least one medal in each appearance, making him the first male short track speed skater to win a medal in five different Olympic Games.

Hamelin capped his Olympic career at Beijing 2022 where he won gold as a member of the men’s 5000m relay. He won two gold medals within 30 minutes at Vancouver 2010, where he was victorious in the men’s 500m and 5000m relay. He went on to win 1500m gold at Sochi 2014. Hamelin also has a 5000m relay silver from Turin 2006 and a 5000m relay bronze from PyeongChang 2018.

Representing Canada at three straight Olympic Winter Games Games from 2002 to 2010, Cindy Klassen’s greatest success came at Turin 2006, where she reached the podium in each of her five events: 1000m (silver), 1500m (gold), 3000m (bronze), 5000m (bronze), and team pursuit (silver). Prior to her clean-up in Turin, Klassen also won 3000m bronze at Salt Lake City 2002.

Until swimmer Penny Oleksiak won her seventh career Olympic medal at Tokyo 2020, Klassen was tied as Canada’s most decorated Olympian, regardless of season, with former teammate Clara Hughes, who won four medals in long track speed skating and two in road cycling.

Which Canadian Winter Olympians have won the most gold medals?

Jayna Hefford – Ice Hockey – 4
Hayley Wickenheiser – Ice Hockey – 4
Caroline Ouellette – Ice Hockey – 4
Charles Hamelin – Short Track Speed Skating – 4

In the highly anticipated debut of women’s ice hockey on the Olympic program, Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford helped claim silver for Canada. Hungry for the taste of gold, they satisfied that craving at Salt Lake City 2002, where Caroline Ouellette was also part of the squad. Those three players continued to collect successive golds at Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010, and Sochi 2014. At the latter, Ouellette became the first winter athlete in the world to enter four Olympic events and win gold in all of them.

Charles Hamelin became the first Canadian man and first Canadian athlete in a sport other than hockey to win four Olympic gold medals.

No Canadian summer athlete has won more than three Olympic gold medals.

Which Canadian won the most medals at a single Olympic Winter Games?

Cindy Klassen – Long Track Speed Skating – 5 medals (Turin 2006)

As a direct result of her success at Turin 2006, the five medals Klassen collected during the long track speed skating events gave her more podium finishes at a single Olympic Games than any other Canadian athlete in any sport, winter or summer.

The most medals a Canadian athlete has won at one Olympic Summer Games are the four earned by swimmers Penny Oleksiak (Rio 2016) and Summer McIntosh (Paris 2024).

Men: 3 – Gaétan Boucher (Long Track Speed Skating, Sarajevo 1984), Marc Gagnon (Short Track Speed Skating, Salt Lake City 2002), Steven Dubois (Short Track Speed Skating, Beijing 2022)

Gaétan Boucher’s most successful Games came at Sarajevo 1984, where he stepped onto the podium in each of his three events. Boucher won gold in the 1000m and 1500m and took home bronze in the 500m. With an identical set of medals on the short track at Salt Lake City 2002, Marc Gagnon tied Boucher for the most medals won by a Canadian man at a single Winter Games. Another short track speed skater, Steven Dubois, made the group a trio when he won a medal of each colour at Beijing 2022.