Mark Spitz

He dated Suzy Weiner, a UCLA theater student and part-time model, for a while before marrying her in 1973. The couple has two sons, Matthew and Justin.

Mark Andrew Spitz was born on February 10, 1950, in Modesto, California, as the first of three children of Arnold and Lenore (Smith) Spitz. His father worked as an executive with a steel company.

Born with a love for water, he started swimming as a toddler under the guidance of his father. As a little boy he joined the Arden Hills Swim Club in Sacramento with swimming coach Sherm Chavoor and competed at his local swim club.

He proved to be a child prodigy and created 17 national age-group records and one world record even before he turned ten. At the age of 14 he trained with coach George F. Haines of the Santa Clara Swim Club.

He attended Santa Clara High School from 1964 to 1968, and during his four years there, he held national high school records in every stroke and in every distance.

In 1965, he participated in his first international completion—the Maccabiah Games—where he won four gold medals and was named the most outstanding athlete.

In 1966 he won the 100 meter butterfly at the AAU national championships, at the age of 16. He then won five gold medals at the 1967 Pan American Games, a world record at that time.

He trained hard for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and proudly predicted that he would win six gold medals. However, his performance was not so stellar and he managed to win only two team gold medals: the 4×100 meter freestyle relay and the 4×200 meter freestyle relay. He also won a silver in the 100 meter butterfly and bronze in the 100 meter freestyle.

Disappointed by his Olympic experience, the determined young man joined the Indiana University in 1968 as a pre-dental student, primarily to train under legendary Indiana Hoosiers swimming coach Doc Counsilman. Mark Spitz improved his form greatly under Counsilman’s training and was better prepared by the time for the 1972 Olympics.

Spitz created history at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich by winning seven Olympic gold medals across individual and team competitions and by creating a new world record in each of the seven events. By doing so, he surpassed his own prediction of winning six gold medals.

Mark Spitz won the World Swimmer of the Year award from ‘Swimming World’ magazine in 1967, 1971 and 1972.

In 1971 he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.

In 1972, he was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in swimming.

He is an inductee of International Swimming Hall of Fame (1977), International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1979), and United States Olympic Hall of Fame (1983).