He called choosing Indiana and Counsilman "the biggest decision of my life (and) the best." While at Indiana, Spitz won eight individual NCAA titles. in January 1969, he decided to attend Indiana University to train with legendary Indiana Hoosiers swimming coach Doc Counsilman, who was also his Olympic coach in Mexico City. Spitz was disappointed in his 1968 Olympic performance. As a result of being beaten by Russell, Spitz did not get to swim in the 4×100-meter medley relay, which gave Russell his second gold medal and the USA team another world record performance. Russell did briefly match Spitz's world record in late August 1967, holding the record equally with Spitz for five days before Spitz regained it solely on October 2, 1967. He lost to Russell by a half second, despite holding the world record and having beaten Russell the previous ten times they had swum against each other that year. In addition, Spitz finished second to fellow American Doug Russell in the 100-meter butterfly. However, he won only two team golds: the 4×100-meter freestyle relay in 3:31.70, and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in 7:52.33. Spitz was already the holder of ten world records, and he brashly predicted that he would win six gold medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. See also: Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1968 Summer Olympics He won five gold medals at the 1967 Pan American Games, setting a record that lasted until 2007 when Brazilian swimmer, Thiago Pereira, won six golds at the XV Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Weinstein JCC in Richmond was one of the Host JCC's for the 2005 games with over 1,000 teenagers participating in various sports, including swimming. He spoke at the JCC Maccabiah Games Opening Ceremonies, which was held in Richmond, Virginia. In 1985, Spitz lit the torch to open the Maccabiah Games. He was again named outstanding athlete of the Games. He returned to Israel in 1969 following the Mexico Olympics to again compete in the Maccabiah Games. At age 15 in Tel Aviv, he won four gold medals and was named the most outstanding athlete. Spitz swam in his first international competition at the 1965 Maccabiah Games. The following year, Spitz emerged on the world swimming stage when he set his first world record at a small California meet with a time of 4:10.60 in the 400-meter freestyle. In 1966 at age 16, he won the 100-meter butterfly at the AAU national championships, the first of his 24 total AAU titles. During his four years there, Mark held national high school records in every stroke and in every distance. From 1964 to 1968, Mark trained with Haines at SCSC and Santa Clara High School. When Spitz was 14, his family moved to Santa Clara, where he joined the Santa Clara Swim Club and was trained by coach George F. Spitz held one world age-group record and 17 national records at the age of 10. At age nine, he was training at Arden Hills Swim Club in Sacramento with swimming coach Sherm Chavoor, who mentored six additional Olympic medal winners. At age six, his family returned to Sacramento, California, and he began to compete at his local swim club. He'd run like he was trying to commit suicide," Lenore Spitz told a reporter for Time in 1968. "You should have seen that little boy dash into the ocean. When Spitz was two years old, his family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he swam at Waikiki beach every day. His family is Jewish his father's family was from Hungary and his mother's, originally surnamed "Sklotkovick", were from Russia. Spitz was born on February 10, 1950, in Modesto, California, the first of three children of Lenore Sylvia (Smith) and Arnold Spitz. He was the third athlete to win nine Olympic gold medals. Swimming World Magazine named him World Swimmer of the Year in 1969, 1971, and 1972. During those years, he set 35 world records, two of which were in trials and unofficial. This was an achievement that lasted for 36 years until it was surpassed by fellow American Michael Phelps, who won eight golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.īetween 19, Spitz won nine Olympic golds, a silver, and a bronze, in addition to five Pan American golds, 31 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) titles and eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, all in world record time. Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion.
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