It is a story of triumph, a story of a tall, dark, goggle-less, and most significantly of all, moustached guy, Mark Spitz who is one of the most recognizable Olympic athletes of all time.
Mark Spitz won seven gold medals in the 1972 Munich Olympics, which remained a record until fellow American swim legend Michael Phelps broke it 36 years later. AFP
The 1972 Munich Olympics were a time of both tragedy and joy. On 5 September 1972, a horrifying incident occurred at the Olympic Games. Palestinian militants killed two Israeli athletes and kidnapped nine more. Those hostages perished within a few hours as well.
However, a different narrative was making headlines in Munich the day before the terrorist attack. It was a story of triumph, a story of a tall, dark, goggle-less and mustachioed guy, Mark Spitz who is one of the most recognizable Olympic athletes of all time.
The American swimmer set seven world records while winning seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics in Munich. After achieving the feat, Spitz himself claimed that the moustache was essential, goggles were overrated, and his famed performances were not entirely unexpected.
By the age of 10, Spitz had already established himself as a top swimmer and was taking private swimming lessons close to his home in Sacramento, California. Later, he relocated to Santa Clara so that he could receive coaching from Olympic swim coach George Haines. He began participating in national competitions at the age of 14. By the time he was 17, he had already broken five global records and set or tied five American records.
Ahead of the 1968 Olympics, Spitz confidently predicted he would take home six gold medals. He only managed to register two victories, and they were both for team relays, not in solo events. He won a silver in 100m butterfly and a bronze in 100m freestyle. To no one’s surprise, his comment aroused much controversy. After being publicly chastised by the media for his conceit, Spitz said that it was the “worst moment” of his career.
In 1972, Spitz excelled at the Munich Olympics. He won all four of the individual men’s events he competed in. Apart from coming atop the podium, he set world records for finishing the 100m butterfly in 54.3 seconds, the 200m butterfly in 2 minutes 0.7 seconds, the 100m freestyle in 51.2 seconds and the 200m freestyle in 1 minute 52.8 seconds. As a member of the American team (in the 400m and 800m freestyle relay and the 400m medley relay) he added three more gold medals to his decorated personal cabinet.
Spitz held the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics until 2008, when another American swim legend, Michael Phelps broke it. In 1983, Spitz was one of the first individuals to be admitted into America’s Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1992, he briefly came out of retirement to compete in the 50-meter Butterfly race for the American Olympic team, but he was unsuccessful.
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