大象传媒

All sporting records are made to be broken but there is one out there that may just never be surpassed.

It belongs to , has stood the test of time for 44 years so far and nobody has come remotely close to equalling it, never mind beating it.

The Soviet gymnast won an astonishing 18 Olympic medals, 14 of which were in individual events and nine of which were gold.

Her tally is three more than compatriot Nikolay Andrianov who has the next best with 15.

Latynina started her collection in Melbourne at the 1956 Olympics where she picked up four golds, one silver and one bronze.

Six more medals followed in Rome, although only three were gold, and the final six, two of which were gold, came in Tokyo in 1964.

Her return also meant that she won a medal in every event she entered.

She retired after winning her 10th World Championship gold medal in 1966, half of which she amazingly won in .

Latynina then coached the Soviet gymnastic team to Olympic golds in 1968, 72 and 76, before organising the competition at the 1980 Moscow Games.

Of the current crop of Olympic athletes, only one springs to mind who may come close to Latynina.

America's , who won eight medals in Athens four years ago and is chasing eight more in Beijing, has arguably the best chance.

But could this be one of those records that just doesn't get broken?