Larissa Latynina has won 9 gold medals.
Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis also won 9 gold medals.
The American swimmer, Mark Spitz, has the record of most gold medals a single Olympiad, with seven gold medals. This achievement was made in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he won, and set a new world record, in each of the following events: 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 200 m butterfly, 4 x 100 m freestyle, 4 x 200 m freestyle and the 4 x 100 m medley.
I would imagine every athlete would like to break this record.