Mark Spitz
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Mark Andrew•Spitz |
| Used name | Mark•Spitz |
| Born | 10 February 1950 in Modesto, California (USA) |
| Measurements | 183 cm / 73 kg |
| Affiliations | Arden Hills Swim Club, Sacramento (USA) |
| NOC |  United States |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 9 |
| Silver | 1 |
| Bronze | 1 |
| Total | 11 |
Biography
After five gold medals at the 1967 Pan American Games, great things were expected of Mark Spitz at the 1968 Olympics, but he surprisingly failed to win an individual event. Before the 1972 Olympics, however, Spitz became undoubtedly the world’s greatest swimmer, and considered by many the greatest ever. In 1971 he became the first swimmer to win four individual AAU titles at one meet, setting three world records in the process.
The next week, at a meet in East Germany, he won all four events again, this time breaking all four world records. The performance made him an overwhelming choice for the 1971 Sullivan Award. At the 1972 Olympics, Spitz set an Olympic record by winning seven gold medals, all of them in world-record time, the seven gold medals broken only in 2008 by Michael Phelps. Overall, he won 24 AAU championships, eight NCAA titles (while at Indiana University), and set 32 world records.
After the 1972 Olympics he capitalized on his fame through various commercial interests, and invested heavily in California real estate. He returned to competition in 1991 with the aim of making the Olympic team the following year but, as he was over 40 years of age, it was a forlorn hope and an unfortunate end to a career of unrivaled achievements.
Results
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Summer Olympics | Swimming (Aquatics) | USA |
Mark Spitz | |||
| 100 metres Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | 3 | Bronze | ||||
| 4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men (Olympic) | United States | 1 | Gold | |||
| 4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men (Olympic) | United States | 1 | Gold | |||
| 100 metres Butterfly, Men (Olympic) | 2 | Silver | ||||
| 200 metres Butterfly, Men (Olympic) | 8 | |||||
| 1972 Summer Olympics | Swimming (Aquatics) | USA |
Mark Spitz | |||
| 100 metres Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | 1 | Gold | ||||
| 200 metres Freestyle, Men (Olympic) | 1 | Gold | ||||
| 4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Men (Olympic) | United States | 1 | Gold | |||
| 4 × 200 metres Freestyle Relay, Men (Olympic) | United States | 1 | Gold | |||
| 100 metres Butterfly, Men (Olympic) | 1 | Gold | ||||
| 200 metres Butterfly, Men (Olympic) | 1 | Gold | ||||
| 4 × 100 metres Medley Relay, Men (Olympic) | United States | 1 | Gold |
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Summer Pan American Games (5–0–0 1967 Winnipeg SWI gold: 100 m butterfly, 200 m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle relay, 4×200 m freestyle relay, and 4×100 m medley relay)
- Listed in Olympians Who Set a World Record in Long Course Swimming (100 m freestyle – 23 August 1970 - 21 June 1975: 51.94 (23 August 1970; Los Angeles, USA), 51.47 (5 August 1972; Chicago, USA), 51.22 (3 September 1972; München, FRG); 200 m freestyle – 12 July 1969 - 23 August 1974: 1:54.3 tied (12 July 1969; Santa Clara, USA), 1:54.2 (4 September 1971; Leipzig, GDR), 1:53.5 (10 September 1971; Minsk, URS), 1:52.78 (29 August 1972; München, FRG); 400 m freestyle – 25 June 1967 - 4 July 1967, 7 July 1967 - 28 August 1967, and 23 June 1968 - 1 August 1968: 4:10.6 (25 June 1967; Haywood, USA), 4:08.8 (7 July 1967; Santa Clara, USA), 4:07.7 (23 June 1968; Haywood, USA); 100 m butterfly – 31 July 1967 - 27 August 1977: 56.3 (31 July 1967; Winnipeg, CAN), 55.7 (7 October 1967; West-Berlin, FRG), 55.6 (30 August 1968; Long Beach, USA), 55.0 (25 August 1971; Houston, USA), 54.72 (4 August 1972; Chicago, USA), 54.56 (4 August 1972; Chicago, USA), 54.27 (31 August 1972; München, FRG); 200 m butterfly – 26 July 1967 - 30 August 1967, 8 October 1967 - 22 August 1970, 27 August 1971 - 31 August 1971, and 2 August 1972 - 3 June 1976: 2:06.4 (26 July 1967; Winnipeg, CAN), 2:05.7 (8 October 1967; West-Berlin, FRG), 2:05.4 (22 August 1970; Los Angeles, USA), 2:03.9 (27 August 1971; Houston, USA), 2:01.87 (2 August 1972; Chicago, USA), 2:01.53 (2 August 1972; Chicago, USA), 2:00.70 (28 August 1972; München, FRG); 4×100 m freestyle relay – 17 October 1968 - 23 August 1970 and 28 August 1972 - 1 September 1974: 3:31.7 (17 October 1968; Ciudad de México, MEX), 3:26.42 (28 August 1972; München, FRG); 4×200 m freestyle relay – 10 September 1971 - 7 September 1973: 7:43.3 (10 September 1971; Minsk, URS), 7:35.78 (31 August 1972; München, FRG); 4×100 m medley relay – 3 September 1971 - 22 July 1976: 3:50.4 (3 September 1971; Leipzig, GDR), 3:48.16 (4 September 1972; München, FRG))
- Listed in Olympic Swimmers - Doubles Champions, Same Year (1972 100/200 Freestyle Champion and 100/200 Butterfly Champion.)
- Listed in Olympians Who Were Awarded the James E. Sullivan Award (1971)