Mark Spitz
Mark Spitz
Mark Andrew Spitzis an American former competition swimmer, nine-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in seven events. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, an achievement surpassed only by Michael Phelps, who won eight golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Spitz set new world records in all seven events in which he competed in 1972, an achievement that still stands. Since the year 1900, no other swimmer has gained so great a...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSwimmer
Date of Birth10 February 1950
CityModesto, CA
CountryUnited States of America
All things being equal, if we could simulate the same scenario, he has a lot more difficult task. He's elected to swim six individual events, as opposed to what I elected to do, which was four.
This is a way to get the museum back on its feet.
I realized I had to step up to the responsibilities of my dream.
Goggles were not allowed. A cap was allowed, but I chose not to wear one. I grew the mustache because a coach in college said I couldn't grow one.
The officials I was with, I don't know if they were unaware, but they didn't say anything to me. The whole thing turned into what did I see and what did I know.
I swam my brains out.
If you want to be Mark Spitz then go for it. If you want to be Michael Phelps then you'll have to work for it. Nobody should wake up to a lower expectation of themselves.
I always wanted to be a dentist from the time I was in high school, and I was accepted to dental school in the spring of 1972. I was planning to go, but after the Olympics there were other opportunities.
I'm at the depot, and I'm not going anywhere. That's better to deal with than having to deal with the unknown. And the unknown is they don't want to fail. They don't want to pay the price unless there's a guarantee they're going to get there
Everyone loves to be loved.
By making a comeback, I'm changing the attitude of people toward me. If I'd known that people would react so enthusiastically, I'd have done it years ago.
I am not qualified to talk about the diet. Simply because I am not a dietician.
When you need a lifestyle change due to [health issues], a dietary change is usually the first thing you need to take control of.
The pool is terrible, but that doesn't have much to do with my record swims. That's all mental attitude.