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Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American swimmer. He holds the record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games (seven), which he set at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

Biography

Spitz was born in Modesto, California to Arnold Spitz and Lenore Smith; the family was Jewish. When he was two years old, his family moved to Hawaii, where he learned to swim. At age six his family returned to Sacramento, California, and he began to compete at his local YMCA pool. At age nine, he was training at Arden Hills Swim Club in Sacramento with Sherm Chavoor, the swimming coach who mentored Spitz and six other Olympic medal winners. By age 10, Spitz held 17 national age-group and one world record. At 14, the family moved to Santa Clara so Spitz could train with George Haines of the Santa Clara Swim Club. At 16, he won the 100 meter butterfly at the National AAU Championships, the first of his 24 AAU titles. The next year, 1967, he won five gold medals at the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg.

Holder of ten world records already, Spitz predicted brashly he would win six golds at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. However, he only won two team golds: the 4 x 100 meter freestyle and the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relays. In addition, Spitz finished second in the 100 m butterfly and third in the 100 m freestyle.

Disappointed in his Olympic performance, Spitz entered Indiana University to train with legendary coach Doc Counsilman, who was also his coach in Mexico City. At Indiana from 1968-1972, he was a pre-dental student, member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity and won eight individual NCAA titles. In 1971, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. He was named World Swimmer of the Year in 1969, 1971 and 1972.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich (West Germany), Spitz was back to maintain his bid for the six gold medals. He did even more, winning seven Olympic gold medals, a feat as of 2006 unequalled by any other Olympic athlete. Further, Spitz set a new world record in each of the seven events (the 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).

Spitz's accomplishments at Munich were marred by the Palestinian terrorism attack, known as the Munich Massacre, that claimed the lives of 11 Israeli athletes (Spitz had previously spent time in Israel competing in the Maccabiah Games). In the immediate aftermath, security personnel whisked Spitz away from Munich.

Still only aged 22, Spitz retired from swimming after the Munich Games. His management tried to get him into show business while his name was still hot. In 1973 and 1974, Spitz appeared on such TV series as The Tonight Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and Emergency! as paramedic Pete Barlow. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences considered hiring him as an Oscars host (despite the fact he hadn't made any films), and there was even talk Spitz might become the next James Bond (the role went to Roger Moore instead). But Spitz was clearly uncomfortable on camera, and he quickly ended his foray into show business.

At age 41, Spitz attempted to make a comeback in an attempt to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, after film maker Bud Greenspan had offered to pay him a million dollars if he succeeded in qualifying. Filmed by Greenspan's cameras, Spitz failed to beat the qualifying limit, despite the fact his times were nearly as good (and in some cases better) than his medal-winning turns more than a decade earlier.

In 2005, Mark Spitz was chosen to be the flag bearer for the US Delegation to the 17th Maccabiah Games.

Personal bests

• 100 m freestyle: 51.22 (1972, world record)
• 200 m freestyle: 1:52.78 (1972, world record)
• 100 m butterfly: 54.27 (1972, world record)
• 200 m butterfly: 2:00.70 (1972, world record)
• Relays:
  • 4×100 m freestyle: 3:26.42 (1972, world record)
  • 4×200 m freestyle: 7:35.78 (1972, world record)
  • 4×100 m medley: 3:48.16 (1972, world record)

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• List of Swimmers
• Athletics at Indiana University Bloomington

External links

• Mark's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Mark Spitz' ESPN Classic biography

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