Larisa Latynina is a legendary Soviet gymnast who establish the erstwhile union as a dominant force in gymnastics.

Larisa, who turns 81 today, stole the limelight in her first Olympics – at the 1956 Melbourne Games aged 21 – as he snapped up four gold medals. She won five more golds over the next two Olympics to etch her name in the history books.

In all, she won 14 individual Olympic and four team medals. Her tally of 18 Games medals was a record that stood for 48 years before it was surpassed by American swimmer Michael Phelps at the London Games.

However, her record for individual event medals still stands. Latynina retired after the 1966 World Championships and became a coach for the Soviet national gymnastics team, a position she held until the 1977.

1966: Bill Goldberg, American retired football player and professional wrestler (49).

1969: Jean-Christophe Boullion, French racing driver who raced in Formula One for Sauber (46).

1971: Duncan Ferguson, Scottish former footballer who played for Everton and Newcastle (44).

1984: Gilles Simon, French tennis player and former world No6 (31).