Full name: Mark Andrew Spitz
Gender: Male
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
Weight: 161 lbs (73 kg)
Born: February 10, 1950 in Modesto, California, United States
Affiliations: Arden Hills Swim Club
Country:
United States
Sport: Swimming
Medals: 9 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze (11 Total)
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. At the 1972 Olympics, Spitz set a not-soon-to-be-matched (lasting until 2008) Olympic record by winning seven gold medals, all of them in world-record time. The performance made him an overwhelming choice for the 1972 Sullivan Award. 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.
| Games | Age | City | Sport | Country | Phase | Unit | Finish | Time | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Final Standings | 3 | Bronze | |||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Final | 3 | 53.0 | |||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Semi-Finals | Heat Three | 2 | 53.8 | QU | |
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Round One | Heat Five | 1 | 54.6 | QU | |
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final | 1 | 51.22 | WR | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Semi-Finals | Heat Two | 2 | 52.43 | QU | |
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Round One | Heat Seven | 2 | 52.46 | QU |
| Games | Age | City | Sport | Country | Phase | Unit | Finish | Time | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final | 1 | 1:52.78 | WR | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Round One | Heat Seven | 1 | 1:55.29 | QU |
| Games | Age | City | Sport | Team | NOC | Phase | Unit | Finish | Time | Leg | Time (Leg) | Time (Cum) | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | USA | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | |||||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | USA | Final | 1 | 3:31.7 | 3rd Leg | 52.7 | 2:38.9 | WR | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | USA | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | |||||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | USA | Final | 1 | 3:26.42 | Anchor | 50.90 | 3:26.41 | WR |
| Games | Age | City | Sport | Team | NOC | Phase | Unit | Finish | Time | Leg | Time (Leg) | Time (Cum) | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | USA | Final Standings | 1 | Gold | ||||||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | USA | Final | 1 | 7:52.3 | 3rd Leg | 2:00.5 | 5:57.7 | |||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | USA | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | |||||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | USA | Final | 1 | 7:35.78 | Anchor | 1:54.24 | 7:35.77 | WR |
| Games | Age | City | Sport | Country | Phase | Unit | Finish | Time | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Final Standings | 2 | Silver | |||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Final | 2 | 56.4 | |||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Semi-Finals | Heat One | 1 | 57.4 | QU | |
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Round One | Heat Five | 1 | 58.5 | QU | |
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final | 1 | 54.27 | WR | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Semi-Finals | Heat Two | 1 | 55.98 | QU | |
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Round One | Heat Five | 1 | 56.45 | QU |
| Games | Age | City | Sport | Country | Phase | Unit | Finish | Time | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Final Standings | 8 | ||||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Final | 8 | 2:13.5 | |||
| 1968 Summer | 18 | Ciudad de México | Swimming | United States | Round One | Heat Four | 1 | 2:10.6 | QU | |
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Final | 1 | 2:00.70 | WR | ||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | Round One | Heat Four | 1 | 2:02.11 | QU/OR |
| Games | Age | City | Sport | Team | NOC | Phase | Unit | Finish | Time | Leg | Time (Leg) | Time (Cum) | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | USA | Final Standings | 1 | WR | Gold | |||||
| 1972 Summer | 22 | München | Swimming | United States | USA | Final | 1 | 3:48.16 | Butterfly | 54.28 | 2:56.47 | WR |