#1. Michael Phelps

Olympics: 2004, 2008, 2012.

Event: Swimming.

Achievements: 18 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze.

Success Mantra: Stay focused without paying heed to your critics.

Winning 8 gold medals in a single Olympic event was seen as an impossible feat to achieve before Michael Phelps proves them wrong. With every event he swam in, he kept shattering records one after the other and won gold medals in all the events he participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Today, he holds the record for most number of gold medals in a single Olympic event, gold medals in individual events, and Olympic medals in individual events for males. He is looked upon as the greatest Olympian of all times.

#2. Mary Lou Retton

Olympics: 1984.

Event: Gymnastics.

Achievements: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze.

Success Mantra: Never back down from competition, it will bring the best in you.

Retton was battling with Romania’s Ecaterina Szabo for an all- around Olympic title in 1984 in which she was trailing by fifteen hundredths of a point. It was looking impossible when Retton managed two perfect landings and became the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title.