How Many Olympic Medals Does Caitlyn Jenner Have?
Many know Caitlyn Jenner as one of the most recognizable transgender women in the U.S. Prior to her transition, the current Republican candidate for California governor (via Fox San Diego) was a very famous 1970s Olympic athlete. But she became even more famous to today's generation starring as herself on the hit reality-TV series, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." Between 2007 to 2021, she appeared in over 156 episodes of the show, says IMDb.
Before their divorce, Jenner was the stepmother to Kris Jenner's four children with attorney Robert Kardashian. She also has two children with Kris; Kendall and Kylie. Jenner also has four other children from two previous marriages.
Born as William Bruce Jenner on October 28, 1949 in Mount Kisco, New York, Jenner played in a multitude of sports during her early childhood. She competed in water skiing, track and field, and football (via Olympics). After attending Graceland University, Jenner decided to pursue decathlon athletics — a competition that includes a variety of track events. This particular sport would earn her a chance to compete in the Olympics.
Jenner's Olympic competition
Jenner excelled in the decathlon. And not long after deciding to solely focus on the sport, she qualified to be an Olympian for the 1972 Munich Olympics. Unfortunately, she did not make a dent at the Games and came in 10th place; perhaps it was her short time as a decathlon athlete that set her back.
But Jenner reappeared again four years later at the 1976 Montreal Olympics (via Team USA). This time she made history. Jenner won gold in the decathlon competition and set a new record, according to History. She retired shortly after with one Olympic gold medal.
Two years later she earned the coveted spot on the Wheaties cereal box (pictured), per via Yahoo News. In the years after her gold medal win, Jenner was inducted into the two Halls of Fame — the Olympic and National Track and Field (via Sports Jrank).
"Untold: Caitlyn Jenner" streams August 24 on Netflix; view the trailer on YouTube.