Lyubov Yegorova

With six gold medals and nine medals total, Lyubov Yegorova is the most successful female Winter Olympian, and only one man has won more Olympic Winter titles, fellow cross country skier Bjørn Dæhlie. She dominated the women’s cross country events at both the 1992 and 1994 Olympics, medalling in nine of the 10 events held. She was also successful at the World Championships, winning two titles in 1991 (in 30 km and relay), and four medals overall including a relay title in 1993. In 1994, she also won the prestigious Holmenkollen medal. She was also the World Cup champion in 1992-93 and took bronzes in 1990-91 and 1991-92. After an absence in which she became a mother, she returned with her fourth world title in Trondheim at the 1997 World Championships. But a few days after her victory, she was found to have used the illegal substance bromantan, and Yegorova was subsequently stripped of her title and banned from competition for two years. She returned to competition after these two years, but was unable to reach the level from before, although she managed a fifth place in the Salt Lake 10 km race. Yegorova subsequently retired and now serves as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (for the Communist Party) and also as the president of the skiing federation of the same city.