Swimmer Mark Spitz: biography, sporting achievements, world records

At its core, nature is unfair, someone generously measuring supernatural, inaccessible to others, and for someone regretting very little. Mark Spitz was a darling of fate. Having ascended to a swimming pedestal, it would seem, for many years, at the age of 22 he is leaving sport. Leaves undefeated, becoming the best sportsman of the world in 1972 ...

Mark Spitz: biography, childhood

A small Californian town of Modesto became known in the world as the birthplace of the swimmer Mark Spitz. It was there that on February 10, 1950, Mark appeared in the family of Arnold Spitz and Lenora Smith. Having spent in California only the first two years of his life, Mark and his parents moved to Hawaii.

Life on the ocean coast could not but postpone the imprint on the life of the boy. According to the parents, the favorite entertainment of little Mark was swimming in the ocean. Constantly disappearing on the beach, Mark already by the age of six was perfectly well on the water. As time showed, it was then that the foundations of future victories were laid in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Sport school

In 1956, after fulfilling the contract due time, Arnold Spitz and his family returned to California. At the age of nine, Mark Spitz was enrolled in the swimming school Arden Hills. And again, luck is smiling at the teenager. The first coach of Mark is Sharm Chavura, one of the greatest swimming trainers in America. Natural talent plus the work of the coach immediately brought tangible results. Already at the age of ten, Spitz was the owner of all sorts of records in his age group. Then the boy gets his first title - "The best swimmer of the world in the age category to ten years."

It is worth noting that his son Arnold Spitz had a huge impact on his career. In 1964, he transported his son to another illustrious trainer - George Hines, sacrificing his own comforts for the development of the child.

First victories

Mark Spitz's progress was evident. Both experts and fans celebrated the talented young man, prodding him a great future. Showing excellent results in all styles of swimming, Mark himself preferred the butterfly. The first major victories came to Spitz in 1965. At the world's Maccabian Games in Israel, the 15-year-old won four gold medals. After this success, Spitse already spoke outside the US.

The following year, Mark made his debut in the adult swimming championship in the United States. And the first tournament brings yesterday's junior a great success - 1 place on the hundred meter distance butterfly. Success at the national championship does not pass by the coaches of the US national swimming team. In 1967, Mark Spitz is a swimmer who represents his country at the Pan American Games in Canadian Winnipeg. And again, a resounding success: a 17-year-old boy conquers five gold medals. And, what is most surprising, Mark Spitz was not attached to any one style or one distance. He looked great both in sprinting, and in stayer distances, in different styles of swimming. In the same 1967, Spitz installed his first world record, sailing 400 meters in 4 minutes and 10 seconds.

The 1968 Olympic Games

By the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, Spitz was in the role of the main favorite. By that time, the American child prodigy had already set world records. There were already ten of them on his account. On the eve of the Olympics, Mark himself told reporters that he will bring six gold medals from Mexico . And the prerequisites for this were. However, the reality turned out to be different: 4 medals of different dignity, of which two are "gold", both are extracted in team sports. A great result, but not for an ambitious young man. This speech was explained: just a couple of weeks before the start in Mexico, Mark caught a cold, and the most important part of the preparatory process was lubricated. The second reason was a rather unexpected change of coach. To the Mexican olympiad Spitz prepared Doc Kaunsilmen. The break with the previous coach, Sharm Chavura, did not pass without a trace. For a while Spitz needed to adapt to work with the new mentor.

The unsuccessful performance at the Olympiad served as a definite impetus for Mark to rethink what was happening. It was realized that one talent is not enough, to achieve this goal you need to work hard. The four-year cycle before the Munich Olympics in swimming was held under the sign of the obvious superiority of Spitz over the other swimmers. Three times he was recognized as the best swimmer in the world, having won a huge number of starts, simultaneously setting several world records.

Mark Spitz: records

And now, the 1972 Olympic Games. The first swim - 200 meters butterfly, the first "gold". Literally an hour later as part of the relay team - the second gold medal. The next day the victory is 200 meters freestyle. As it turned out, this was only the beginning. Seven times, Mark Spitz spoke in the pool of Munich, and all seven of his performances were gold. And, most importantly, all seven swimmers are new world records.

In the sports world, a new hero has appeared. By the decision of the competent jury, it was Mark Spitz who was named the best sportsman of the planet of 1972.

Farewell to the big sport

In addition to the phenomenal performance of Spitz, the Munich Olympics was remembered and a terrible tragedy. The terrorist act that occurred in the midst of the Olympics, claimed the lives of 11 Israeli athletes. Thus, these games left a double impression for Spitz. On the one hand - an unprecedented triumph, on the other - a shock from the death of athletes. Against this background, Mark decides to stop performing in various competitions. At that time Mark was only 22 years old.

During his short sports career Mark Spitz has set 33 world records, became a 9-time Olympic champion, won a huge number of different kinds of titles.

In 1989, the sports world shocked the news about the possible return of Mark to the big sport. According to his own statement, he planned to be selected to participate in the 1992 Olympics. Unfortunately, the miracle did not happen. The result shown by Spitz was below the necessary minimum for the passage of the selection.

But even in spite of this fact, Mark Spitz will forever remain unbeaten in his biography, in the memory of the fans. The best swimmer for all time ...