Mark Spitz

If you have been watching the Olympics, you know that Michael Phelps won eight gold medals beating Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in one Olympics. However, if you are a youngster, you might not even know who Mark Spitz is.

Mark Spitz was born on February 10, 1950 in Modesto, California. By age nine he was training at Arden Hills Swim Club . At the age of 10 he held 17 national age-group records and held a world record. His parents moved to Santa Clara, California when Mark was 14 so that he could train with George F. Haines at the Santa Clara Swim Club. During his four years at Santa Clara High School he held national records in every stroke and every distance.

His first Olympics was in Mexico in 1968 where he won two gold medals for team events. He won a silver medal in the 100m Butterfly. After the Olympics he entered Indiana University and won 8 NCAA titles.

The 1972 Olympics were held in Munich, Germany. Here he would win seven gold medals and set a world record in each. After the 1972 Olympics, Spitz retired. He did try and qualify for the 1992 Olympic team at age 41, but was too slow by two seconds.

After the promotional appearances faded, Spitz started a real estate company and is now a motivational speaker.