Mark Spitz
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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.
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[edit] 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.
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United States |
|||
| Men’s swimming | |||
| Gold | 1968 Mexico City | 4x100 m freestyle relay | |
| Gold | 1968 Mexico City | 4x200 m freestyle relay | |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 100 m butterfly | |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 100 m freestyle | |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 200 m butterfly | |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 200 m freestyle | |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 4x100 m freestyle relay | |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 4x100 m medley relay | |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 4x200 m freestyle relay | |
| Silver | 1968 Mexico City | 100 m butterfly | |
| Bronze | 1968 Mexico City | 100 m freestyle | |
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 television while his name was still hot. In 1973 and 1974, Spitz was booked for appearances on The Tonight Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and The Dean Martin Show, among others, but clearly uncomfortable, 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.
In 2005, Mark Spitz was chosen to be the flag bearer for the US Delegation to the 17th Maccabiah Games.
[edit] 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)
[edit] See also
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of Swimmers
- Athletics at Indiana University Bloomington
[edit] External links
| Olympic champions in men's 100 m freestyle |
|---|
| 1896: Alfréd Hajós | 1906: Charles Daniels | 1908: Charles Daniels | 1912: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku | 1920: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku | 1924: Johnny Weissmuller | 1928: Johnny Weissmuller | 1932: Yasuji Miyazaki | 1936: Ferenc Csík | 1948: Walter Ris | 1952: Clarke Scholes | 1956: Jon Henricks | 1960: John Devitt | 1964: Don Schollander | 1968: Michael Wenden | 1972: Mark Spitz | 1976: Jim Montgomery | 1980: Jörg Woithe | 1984: Rowdy Gaines | 1988: Matt Biondi | 1992: Aleksandr Popov | 1996: Aleksandr Popov | 2000: Pieter van den Hoogenband | 2004: Pieter van den Hoogenband |
| Olympic champions in men's 200 m freestyle |
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| 1900: Frederick Lane | 1968: Michael Wenden | 1972: Mark Spitz | 1976: Bruce Furniss | 1980: Sergey Kopliakov | 1984: Michael Gross | 1988: Duncan Armstrong | 1992: Yevgeny Sadovyi | 1996: Danyon Loader | 2000: Pieter van den Hoogenband | 2004: Ian Thorpe |
| Olympic champions in men's 100 m butterfly |
|---|
| 1968: Doug Russell | 1972: Mark Spitz | 1976: Matt Vogel | 1980: Pär Arvidsson | 1984: Michael Gross | 1988: Anthony Nesty | 1992: Pablo Morales | 1996: Denis Pankratov | 2000: Lars Frölander | 2004: Michael Phelps |
| Olympic champions in men's 200 m butterfly |
|---|
| 1956: William Yorzyk | 1960: Michael Troy | 1964: Kevin Berry | 1968: Carl Robie | 1972: Mark Spitz | 1976: Mike Bruner | 1980: Sergey Fesenko | 1984: Jon Sieben | 1988: Michael Gross | 1992: Melvin Stewart | 1996: Denis Pankratov | 2000: Tom Malchow | 2004: Michael Phelps |
| Olympic champions in men's 4x200 m freestyle relay |
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1908 Great Britain - John Henry Derbyshire, Paul Radmilovic, William Foster, Henry Taylor |
Categories: 1950 births | American butterfly swimmers | American freestyle swimmers | James E. Sullivan Award recipients | Jewish American sportspeople | Living people | Multiple Olympic gold medalists | Olympic bronze medalists for the United States | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | Olympic silver medalists for the United States | Olympic swimmers of the United States | People from Modesto, California | People from Sacramento, California | Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics | Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
