Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competition
swimmer, nine-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in seven events. He won
seven gold medals at the
1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, an achievement surpassed only by
Michael Phelps, who won eight golds at the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Spitz set new world records in all seven events in which he competed in 1972, an achievement that still stands. Since the year 1900, no other swimmer has gained so great a percentage of all the medals awarded for Olympic events held in a single Games.