| American swimmer Mark Spitz dominates Olympic record books. At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, he not only became the first athlete to take home seven gold medals (three in relays, two in freestyle and two in butterfly), but he set new world records in all seven events.
Spitz had already won a bronze, a silver and two gold medals in Mexico City in 1968; with a total of 11 medals, he shares the record for the most medals ever won by a U.S. Olympian. With nine gold medals, Spitz is tied with Carl Lewis for the most gold medals won, behind only Ray Ewry, who won 10 (two of which, however, were won in the unofficial Intercalated Games of 1906). He is tied with Matt Biondi for the most Olympic medals won by a U.S. male swimmer.
Outside the Olympics, he claimed 24 National Amateur Athletic Union championships and set 25 individual American records. He won five golds at the 1967 Pan-American Games. Spitz won eight NCAA titles, and was NCAA Champion four times in the 100-yard butterfly.
Having broken world records 26 times, Spitz has received numerous honors. He was awarded the AAU James E. Sullivan Award in 1971, and was named the 1972 World Athlete of the Year and the 1972 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. In 1977 He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer.
A competitive swimmer since childhood, by the end of his 10-year-old age group season, Spitz had achieved 17 age-group records. He owes much of his success to working with three of America's great swimming coaches, Hall of Famers Sherm Chavoor, Doc Counsilman and George Haines.
Today, Spitz is still an active supporter of swimming. He spends much of his free time with his wife Suzey and their two sons, Matt and Justin. He enjoys sailing and has completed the TransPacific Yacht Race from San Pedro, Calif., to Honolulu, Hawaii, three times. |
USA