MARK SPITZ

Born February 19, 1950 in CA 

Recognized as one of the greatest swimmers of all time, he’s a 9 time Olympic champion.

In the 1972 Olympics, he set the record as the first athlete to earn 7 gold medals in a single Olympic Games, each one of them won while also setting the World Record!

Began swimming at 2 and became “the worlds best 10-and-under swimmer,” and at 16, won his first AAU National Championship.

Named one of the top 100 athletes of the 20th century and the first Jewish recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award, given annually to the Amateur Athlete of the Year.

“The only side effect of too much training is that you get into better shape. There is nothing wrong with that.”