Michael Phelps Nickname

Michael Phelps nickname is "MP"

Michael Phelps has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary. Both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. national team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career.

Tags: Michael Phelps,Michael Phelps nickname,Michael Phelps sisters,Michael Phelps sister

Debbie Phelps Wiki

Debbie Phelps

Debbie Davisson Phelps, is a middle school principal. The two divorced in 1994.

Phelps was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood. He graduated from Towson High School in 2003. His father, Fred Phelps, worked for the Maryland State Police and his mother, Debbie Davisson Phelps, is a middle school principal. The two divorced in 1994. Michael, whose nickname is "MP", has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary. Both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. national team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career.

Source: wikipedia.org

Tags:debbie phelps wiki,debbie phelps wikipedia,michael phelps mother debbie phelps

Mark Spitz Wiki

Mark Spitz Wikipedia

Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is a retired American swimmer, best known for winning seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement not surpassed until Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics. Between 1968 and 1972, Spitz won nine Olympic gold medals, one silver, and one bronze; five Pan American golds; 31 National U.S. Amateur Athletic Union titles; and eight U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. During those years, he set 33 world records. He was named World Swimmer of the Year in 1969, 1971 and 1972.


Mark Spitz Personal information

Full name: Mark Andrew Spitz
Nickname(s): Mark The Shark
Nationality: United States
Stroke(s): freestyle, butterfly
College team: Indiana Hoosiers (1968-1972)
Date of birth: February 10, 1950 (1950-02-10) (age 58)
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)

Swimming career

Spitz was born in Modesto, California, the first of three children of Arnold and Lenore Spitz, a Jewish family. When he was two years old, Spitz's family moved to Hawaii. Spitz swam at Waikiki Beach every day. "You should have seen that little boy dash into the ocean. He'd run like he was trying to commit suicide." Lenore Spitz told a reporter for TIME (April 12, 1968). At age six his family returned to Sacramento, California, and he began to compete at his local swim club. At age nine, he was training at Arden Hills Swim Club in Sacramento with Sherm Chavoor, the swimming coach who mentored Spitz and six other Olympic medal winners.

Spitz continued to show his tremendous talents by the early age of 10, holding 17 national age-group and one world record. At 14, his family moved to Santa Clara so Spitz could train with George F. Haines of the Santa Clara Swim Club. From 1964 to 1968 Mark trained with Haines at SCSC and Santa Clara High School. During his four years there, Mark held national high school records in every stroke and in every distance [needs citation?]. It was a remarkable and unprecedented achievement. In 1966, at 16, he won the 100 meter butterfly at the National AAU Championships, the first of his 24 AAU titles. The following year, 1967 Mark set his first world record at a small California meet, in the 400 meter freestyle, with a time of 4:10.60, and emerged on the world swimming stage.


Maccabiah Games

The 1965 Maccabiah Games was his first international competition. At the age of 15, in Tel Aviv, Spitz won four gold medals and was named the most outstanding athlete.

He returned to Israel in 1969, following the Mexico Olympics, to again compete in the Maccabiah. This time he won six gold medals. He was again named outstanding athlete of the Games.

In 1985, Spitz lit a torch to open the games.

In 2005, he was a member of the U.S. delegation at the 17th Maccabiah Games.

In 2005, he spoke at the Maccabi Games Opening Ceremonies, which was held in Richmond, Virginia. 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.


Pan American Games

In 1967, he established a record, winning five gold medals at the V Pan American Games in Winnipeg. Forty years later his record was surpassed by Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira at the XV Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he won six gold medals.


1968 Olympics

Holder of 10 world records already[citation needed], Spitz predicted brashly he would win six golds at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. However, he won only two team golds: the 4 x 100 meter freestyle in 3:31:70, and the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay in 7:52:33. In addition, Spitz finished 2nd in the 100 m butterfly in 00:56:40. In this event he was beaten by fellow American Doug Russell by 1/2 a second despite holding the world record and having beaten Russell in the previous 10 times they had swum against each other in that year.[8] Russell did briefly match Spitz's world record in late August of 1967, holding the world record equally with Spitz for five days before Spitz regained it solely on October 2 1967. As a result of being beaten by Russell, Spitz did not get to swim in the 4 x 100 m Medley Relay which gave Russell his second Gold medal and the USA team another World Record swim.


College training

Disappointed in his 1968 Olympic performance, Spitz entered Indiana University to train with legendary coach Doc Counsilman, who was also his coach in Mexico City. While at IU, Spitz won 8 individual NCAA titles. In 1971, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Spitz also set a number of world records during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials held in Chicago's Portage Park in 1972.

He was nicknamed "Mark the Shark" by his teammates.


1972 Olympics

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich (West Germany), Spitz was back to maintain his bid for the six gold medals. He did even more, winning seven Olympic gold medals. Further, Spitz set a new world record in each of the seven events (the 100 m freestyle [00:51:22], 200 m freestyle [01:52:78], 100 m butterfly [00:54:27], 200 m butterfly [02:00:70], 4 x 100 m freestyle relay [03:26:42], 4 x 200 m freestyle relay [07:35:78] and the 4 x 100 m medley relay [03:48:16]). Originally Spitz was reluctant to swim the 100m freestyle fearing a less than gold medal finish. Minutes before the race he confessed on the pool deck to ABC's Donna de Varona, "I know I say I don't want to swim before every event but this time I'm serious. If I swim six and win six, I'll be a hero. If I swim seven and win six, I'll be a failure." Spitz won by half a stroke in a world-record 51.22.

His participation in the 1972 Munich Olympic games gained him a bit of notoriety as he swam with a mustache, whereas most competitors opt to shave their entire bodies.

Spitz is one of five Olympians to win nine or more career gold medals: Larissa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi and Carl Lewis also have nine; only swimmer Michael Phelps has won more with 14. Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics was not surpassed until 2008 by Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Spitz was evacuated from Munich when 11 athletes and officials from Israel's Olympic team were kidnapped and later killed by Palestinian terrorists. Officials were worried that Spitz might be targeted because of his Jewish heritage. He had already finished his competition.

Retirement

Following the Munich Olympics, even though he was still only 22, Spitz retired from competition.

In 1999, Spitz ranked #33 on ESPN SportsCentury 50 Greatest Athletes, the only aquatic athlete to make the list.


Hall of Fame

International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inducted 1977.
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Inducted 1979.
United States Olympic Hall of Fame, Inducted 1983.[14]
San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, inducted Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame, Inducted 2007.
Long Beach City College Hall of Fame, Inducted 2007
Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame

Film and television career

After his retirement at age 22, his management tried to get him into show business while his name was still hot. In 1973–74, Spitz appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and TV series such as The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and Emergency! as paramedic Pete Barlow. Spitz went to work for ABC Sports in 1976 and worked on many sports presentations, including coverage of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.[20] In 1985 he appeared as a TV announcer in Challenge of a Lifetime. In 1998 he appeared in a TV commercial for Sony PlayStation—however, Spitz was clearly uncomfortable on camera, and he mostly had occasional bit spots in shows and commercials. His lackluster acting performances soon led to a cessation of movie and TV offers. He continued as a broadcaster for some time, but within a few years, he had all but vanished as a public figure.

In 2006 he received critical praise for his narration of Freedom's Fury, a Hungarian documentary about the Olympic water polo team's famous Blood in the Water match against Russia during the Revolution of 1956—considered the most famous match in water polo history. The film was executive produced by Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu, and made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In November 2007, Spitz made a cameo appearance on Amanda Beard's first television commercial (for GoDaddy) featuring her own seven Olympic medals (won between 1996–2004).

In a live, in-studio interview with KCRA host Mike TeSelle on June 14, 2008, Spitz commented that he no longer maintains his iconic mustache because it had become "too gray."


Personal life

Family life

When Spitz returned from the Olympics, he began dating the daughter of one of his father's business acquaintances after seeing her picture.[23] Suzy was a tougher sell. "She was disinterested," Spitz says. Less than a year after Munich, Spitz and Suzy Weiner, a UCLA theater student and part-time model, were married on May 6, 1973.[25] They have two sons: Matthew (b. October, 1981) and Justin (b. September, 1991).


Schooling

From 1964 to 1968 Mark attended the Santa Clara High School. After graduating he went on to Indiana University.

At Indiana University from 1968-72, he was a pre-dental student and member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Time Magazine asked him if he wanted to return to dental school after the Olympics. "I always wanted to be a dentist from the time I was in high school, and I was accepted to dental school in the spring of 1972. I was planning to go, but after the Olympics there were other opportunities. I did some television and speaking engagements, and things just went from there."

According to the Indiana University School of Dentistry, Mark Spitz was planning on attending in the fall of 1972, but instead he moved to California. He was quoted in the Chicago Tribune in June, 2004 saying, “I’m probably the most famous dentist who never became a dentist in the world.”

Job and career

Soon after his return to the U.S., Spitz landed several lucrative corporate endorsement contracts. He earned about $7 million in a two-year period.[28] He bought a Ferrari and says he made more than $1 million when he started a very successful real-estate company in Beverly Hills.[22] "A million dollars in 1972 would be equivalent to more than $10 million today," Spitz said. "I did very well, thank you very much."[29] "I would say I was a pioneer. There wasn't anyone who'd gone to the Olympics before me who capitalized the same way on opportunity. It depends on timing, it depends on hype, it depends on the economy, and most importantly, it depends on looks. I mean, I've never seen a magazine of uglies. That's our society. I'm not saying it's right. That's just the facts."

Per his official Web site, Spitz is currently self-employed as a corporate spokesperson and motivational speaker. However, Sports Yahoo! lists his occupation as a stock broker and motivational speaker.[31] According to a recent interview "Spitz became a stockbroker in 2002 and has since moved into private equity. He is now also dabbling in the "water business," as he calls it, and is in negotiations to build a water-bottling facility on aquifer-rich land that he and a business partner own.

He has pursued various entrepreneurial projects with former NBA player Rick Barry. He travels the world delivering about 25 lectures a year, and has just written a memoir, The Extraordinary Life of An Olympic Champion.


Hobbies

His hobbies include sailing, skiing and collecting art.[34] He has been involved in blue water ocean racing (sailing) and in the summer of 1981 competed in his third Trans-Pac Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii, finishing third.

People always asked Spitz, "Do you still swim?" Remarkably, the answer most of the time was "no."


Iconic mustache during Olympics

In an era when other swimmers, male and female were shaving body hair, he swam with a mustache. When asked why he initially grew one he stated "I grew the mustache because a coach in college said I couldn't grow one." Spitz said he originally grew the mustache as a form of rebellion against the clean-cut look imposed on him in college. “It took a long time to grow,” he said.It took four months to grow, but Spitz was proud of it, he decided the mustache was a "good-luck piece."

Mark Spitz is quoted as saying, "When I went to the Olympics, I had every intention of shaving the mustache off, but I realized I was getting so many comments about it--and everybody was talking about it--that I decided to keep it. I had some fun with a Russian coach who asked me if my mustache slowed me down. I said, "No, as a matter of fact, it deflects water away from my mouth, allows my rear end to rise and make me bullet-shaped in the water, and that's what had allowed me to swim so great. He's translating as fast as he can for the other coaches, and the following year every Russian male swimmer had a mustache."

According to a Sports Illustrated article, on Valentine's Day in 1988, after talking about shaving off his mustache for a year, he finally did. "He looked great with it, don't get me wrong," explained Suzy, "but he looks so handsome without it."

When he was asked why he shaved it off he responded "well, one - I'm not swimming anymore, two - it started to turn gray, and three - my wife had never seen me, nor my family, without the mustache... I'm happy [without it]."

Source: wikipedia.org

Tags: mark spitz wikipedia,mark spitz wiki,mark spitz bio,mark spitz biography,mark spitz photo

Mark Spitz Wikipedia

Mark Spitz Wiki

Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is a retired American swimmer, best known for winning seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement not surpassed until Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics. Between 1968 and 1972, Spitz won nine Olympic gold medals, one silver, and one bronze; five Pan American golds; 31 National U.S. Amateur Athletic Union titles; and eight U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. During those years, he set 33 world records. He was named World Swimmer of the Year in 1969, 1971 and 1972.


Mark Spitz Personal information

Full name: Mark Andrew Spitz
Nickname(s): Mark The Shark
Nationality: United States
Stroke(s): freestyle, butterfly
College team: Indiana Hoosiers (1968-1972)
Date of birth: February 10, 1950 (1950-02-10) (age 58)
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)

Swimming career

Spitz was born in Modesto, California, the first of three children of Arnold and Lenore Spitz, a Jewish family. When he was two years old, Spitz's family moved to Hawaii. Spitz swam at Waikiki Beach every day. "You should have seen that little boy dash into the ocean. He'd run like he was trying to commit suicide." Lenore Spitz told a reporter for TIME (April 12, 1968). At age six his family returned to Sacramento, California, and he began to compete at his local swim club. At age nine, he was training at Arden Hills Swim Club in Sacramento with Sherm Chavoor, the swimming coach who mentored Spitz and six other Olympic medal winners.

Spitz continued to show his tremendous talents by the early age of 10, holding 17 national age-group and one world record. At 14, his family moved to Santa Clara so Spitz could train with George F. Haines of the Santa Clara Swim Club. From 1964 to 1968 Mark trained with Haines at SCSC and Santa Clara High School. During his four years there, Mark held national high school records in every stroke and in every distance [needs citation?]. It was a remarkable and unprecedented achievement. In 1966, at 16, he won the 100 meter butterfly at the National AAU Championships, the first of his 24 AAU titles. The following year, 1967 Mark set his first world record at a small California meet, in the 400 meter freestyle, with a time of 4:10.60, and emerged on the world swimming stage.


Maccabiah Games

The 1965 Maccabiah Games was his first international competition. At the age of 15, in Tel Aviv, Spitz won four gold medals and was named the most outstanding athlete.

He returned to Israel in 1969, following the Mexico Olympics, to again compete in the Maccabiah. This time he won six gold medals. He was again named outstanding athlete of the Games.

In 1985, Spitz lit a torch to open the games.

In 2005, he was a member of the U.S. delegation at the 17th Maccabiah Games.

In 2005, he spoke at the Maccabi Games Opening Ceremonies, which was held in Richmond, Virginia. 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.


Pan American Games

In 1967, he established a record, winning five gold medals at the V Pan American Games in Winnipeg. Forty years later his record was surpassed by Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira at the XV Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he won six gold medals.


1968 Olympics

Holder of 10 world records already[citation needed], Spitz predicted brashly he would win six golds at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. However, he won only two team golds: the 4 x 100 meter freestyle in 3:31:70, and the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay in 7:52:33. In addition, Spitz finished 2nd in the 100 m butterfly in 00:56:40. In this event he was beaten by fellow American Doug Russell by 1/2 a second despite holding the world record and having beaten Russell in the previous 10 times they had swum against each other in that year.[8] Russell did briefly match Spitz's world record in late August of 1967, holding the world record equally with Spitz for five days before Spitz regained it solely on October 2 1967. As a result of being beaten by Russell, Spitz did not get to swim in the 4 x 100 m Medley Relay which gave Russell his second Gold medal and the USA team another World Record swim.


College training

Disappointed in his 1968 Olympic performance, Spitz entered Indiana University to train with legendary coach Doc Counsilman, who was also his coach in Mexico City. While at IU, Spitz won 8 individual NCAA titles. In 1971, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Spitz also set a number of world records during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials held in Chicago's Portage Park in 1972.

He was nicknamed "Mark the Shark" by his teammates.


1972 Olympics

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich (West Germany), Spitz was back to maintain his bid for the six gold medals. He did even more, winning seven Olympic gold medals. Further, Spitz set a new world record in each of the seven events (the 100 m freestyle [00:51:22], 200 m freestyle [01:52:78], 100 m butterfly [00:54:27], 200 m butterfly [02:00:70], 4 x 100 m freestyle relay [03:26:42], 4 x 200 m freestyle relay [07:35:78] and the 4 x 100 m medley relay [03:48:16]). Originally Spitz was reluctant to swim the 100m freestyle fearing a less than gold medal finish. Minutes before the race he confessed on the pool deck to ABC's Donna de Varona, "I know I say I don't want to swim before every event but this time I'm serious. If I swim six and win six, I'll be a hero. If I swim seven and win six, I'll be a failure." Spitz won by half a stroke in a world-record 51.22.

His participation in the 1972 Munich Olympic games gained him a bit of notoriety as he swam with a mustache, whereas most competitors opt to shave their entire bodies.

Spitz is one of five Olympians to win nine or more career gold medals: Larissa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi and Carl Lewis also have nine; only swimmer Michael Phelps has won more with 14. Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics was not surpassed until 2008 by Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Spitz was evacuated from Munich when 11 athletes and officials from Israel's Olympic team were kidnapped and later killed by Palestinian terrorists. Officials were worried that Spitz might be targeted because of his Jewish heritage. He had already finished his competition.

Retirement

Following the Munich Olympics, even though he was still only 22, Spitz retired from competition.

In 1999, Spitz ranked #33 on ESPN SportsCentury 50 Greatest Athletes, the only aquatic athlete to make the list.


Hall of Fame

International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inducted 1977.
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Inducted 1979.
United States Olympic Hall of Fame, Inducted 1983.[14]
San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, inducted Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame, Inducted 2007.
Long Beach City College Hall of Fame, Inducted 2007
Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame

Film and television career

After his retirement at age 22, his management tried to get him into show business while his name was still hot. In 1973–74, Spitz appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and TV series such as The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and Emergency! as paramedic Pete Barlow. Spitz went to work for ABC Sports in 1976 and worked on many sports presentations, including coverage of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.[20] In 1985 he appeared as a TV announcer in Challenge of a Lifetime. In 1998 he appeared in a TV commercial for Sony PlayStation—however, Spitz was clearly uncomfortable on camera, and he mostly had occasional bit spots in shows and commercials. His lackluster acting performances soon led to a cessation of movie and TV offers. He continued as a broadcaster for some time, but within a few years, he had all but vanished as a public figure.

In 2006 he received critical praise for his narration of Freedom's Fury, a Hungarian documentary about the Olympic water polo team's famous Blood in the Water match against Russia during the Revolution of 1956—considered the most famous match in water polo history. The film was executive produced by Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu, and made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In November 2007, Spitz made a cameo appearance on Amanda Beard's first television commercial (for GoDaddy) featuring her own seven Olympic medals (won between 1996–2004).

In a live, in-studio interview with KCRA host Mike TeSelle on June 14, 2008, Spitz commented that he no longer maintains his iconic mustache because it had become "too gray."


Personal life

Family life

When Spitz returned from the Olympics, he began dating the daughter of one of his father's business acquaintances after seeing her picture.[23] Suzy was a tougher sell. "She was disinterested," Spitz says. Less than a year after Munich, Spitz and Suzy Weiner, a UCLA theater student and part-time model, were married on May 6, 1973.[25] They have two sons: Matthew (b. October, 1981) and Justin (b. September, 1991).


Schooling

From 1964 to 1968 Mark attended the Santa Clara High School. After graduating he went on to Indiana University.

At Indiana University from 1968-72, he was a pre-dental student and member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Time Magazine asked him if he wanted to return to dental school after the Olympics. "I always wanted to be a dentist from the time I was in high school, and I was accepted to dental school in the spring of 1972. I was planning to go, but after the Olympics there were other opportunities. I did some television and speaking engagements, and things just went from there."

According to the Indiana University School of Dentistry, Mark Spitz was planning on attending in the fall of 1972, but instead he moved to California. He was quoted in the Chicago Tribune in June, 2004 saying, “I’m probably the most famous dentist who never became a dentist in the world.”

Job and career

Soon after his return to the U.S., Spitz landed several lucrative corporate endorsement contracts. He earned about $7 million in a two-year period.[28] He bought a Ferrari and says he made more than $1 million when he started a very successful real-estate company in Beverly Hills.[22] "A million dollars in 1972 would be equivalent to more than $10 million today," Spitz said. "I did very well, thank you very much."[29] "I would say I was a pioneer. There wasn't anyone who'd gone to the Olympics before me who capitalized the same way on opportunity. It depends on timing, it depends on hype, it depends on the economy, and most importantly, it depends on looks. I mean, I've never seen a magazine of uglies. That's our society. I'm not saying it's right. That's just the facts."

Per his official Web site, Spitz is currently self-employed as a corporate spokesperson and motivational speaker. However, Sports Yahoo! lists his occupation as a stock broker and motivational speaker.[31] According to a recent interview "Spitz became a stockbroker in 2002 and has since moved into private equity. He is now also dabbling in the "water business," as he calls it, and is in negotiations to build a water-bottling facility on aquifer-rich land that he and a business partner own.

He has pursued various entrepreneurial projects with former NBA player Rick Barry. He travels the world delivering about 25 lectures a year, and has just written a memoir, The Extraordinary Life of An Olympic Champion.


Hobbies

His hobbies include sailing, skiing and collecting art.[34] He has been involved in blue water ocean racing (sailing) and in the summer of 1981 competed in his third Trans-Pac Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii, finishing third.

People always asked Spitz, "Do you still swim?" Remarkably, the answer most of the time was "no."


Iconic mustache during Olympics

In an era when other swimmers, male and female were shaving body hair, he swam with a mustache. When asked why he initially grew one he stated "I grew the mustache because a coach in college said I couldn't grow one." Spitz said he originally grew the mustache as a form of rebellion against the clean-cut look imposed on him in college. “It took a long time to grow,” he said.It took four months to grow, but Spitz was proud of it, he decided the mustache was a "good-luck piece."

Mark Spitz is quoted as saying, "When I went to the Olympics, I had every intention of shaving the mustache off, but I realized I was getting so many comments about it--and everybody was talking about it--that I decided to keep it. I had some fun with a Russian coach who asked me if my mustache slowed me down. I said, "No, as a matter of fact, it deflects water away from my mouth, allows my rear end to rise and make me bullet-shaped in the water, and that's what had allowed me to swim so great. He's translating as fast as he can for the other coaches, and the following year every Russian male swimmer had a mustache."

According to a Sports Illustrated article, on Valentine's Day in 1988, after talking about shaving off his mustache for a year, he finally did. "He looked great with it, don't get me wrong," explained Suzy, "but he looks so handsome without it."

When he was asked why he shaved it off he responded "well, one - I'm not swimming anymore, two - it started to turn gray, and three - my wife had never seen me, nor my family, without the mustache... I'm happy [without it]."

Source: wikipedia.org

Tags: mark spitz wikipedia,mark spitz wiki,mark spitz bio,mark spitz biography,mark spitz photo

Mark Spitz Biography

Name : Mark Spitz

Birth Name : Mark Andrew Spitz

Date of Birth : 10 February 1950

Place of Birth : Modesto, California, USA

Height : 6' 1''

Nationality : American

Profession : Sportsman (Swimmer)

Mark Spitz Trivia

Winner of an unprecedented 7 gold medals in swimming at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Winner of 2 gold medals in the 1968 Mexico City olympics.
Sons: Matthew (b. 1981) and Justin (b. 1991)
Considered the swiftest swimmer of all time, made his big splash during the 1972 Olympics, becoming the first athlete to win seven gold medals in an Olympiad. His performances were even more remarkable considering world records were set in all seven events.
Still only aged 22, he retired from swimming after the Munich Olympics.
After he won the 200m free-style in the 1972 (Munich) Olympics, he celebrated by swinging his sneakers in front of the cameras. He had to explain to the organizing comitee that he was just euphoric, not doing publicity.
In the 1967 Pan-American Games (Winnipeg), he won 5 gold medals.
Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, 1983 (charter member).
American swimming sensation 19-year old Michael Phelps aspired to break Spitz's record of 7 gold medals, at the Athens Olympics. Phelps, however, had to settle for 8 medals, 6 gold, and 2 bronze, respectively.
Idol of Australian freestyle swimmer and 9-time Olympic champion, Ian Thorpe.


Mark Spitz Detailed Biography

American swimmer Mark Spitz achieved an Olympic record in 1972 that may never be equalled: seven gold medals. Perhaps no one athlete put more pressure on himself than American swimmer Mark Spitz. The athlete's bold predictions and cocky disposition made it almost impossible for him to live up to the standards he was setting for himself. Mark Spitz began swimming at the age of two and as far back as he could remember, he ruled the pool. Mark Spitz held 17 national records (for his age group) at the age of ten and was named "the world's best 10-and-under swimmer." At age 16, he won his first AAU National Championship. And the following year he won five gold medals at the 1967 Pan American Games and laid claim to ten world records. He couldn't help but think he was the best. So before the 1968 games in Mexico City, Spitz predicted he would accomplish what no one else had to win six gold medals. Mark Spitz ended up with two team golds, plus an individual silver and bronze. It's tough for someone to be disappointed with four Olympic medals, but Spitz was.

Mark Spitz spent the next four years at Indiana University, winning almost every conceivable award, setting almost every world record in existence, and preparing himself for the 1972 Olympics in Munich. At Munich, not only did Spitz win the six golds he predicted four years before he won seven! And not only did he win all seven, but world records were set in each event. He won four individual golds in the 200m butterfly, the 200m freestyle, the 100m butterfly and the 100m freestyle. Mark Spitz also added three team golds as the United States won the 4x100m freestyle relay, the 4x200m relay, and the 4x100 medley relay. It was the greatest performance by an Olympic athlete in history. Tragedy then struck the 1972 games as Palestinian terrorists killed two Israelis and taking nine others hostage. Spitz, who is Jewish, left Germany for London before the closing ceremonies. The nine hostages were later killed.

Mark Spitz's performance coupled with his good looks made Spitz an instant celebrity back in the states. A host of endorsements and a short-lived television career followed but he eventually settled in to a profitable real estate career. Seventeen years later, at the age of 39, Mark Spitz began training again with the hopes of earning a spot on the 1992 Olympic team. The familiar mustache was gone but the fire remained. Alas Mark Spitz fell short in qualifying and had to settle for a whopping career total of 11 Olympic medals. Olympic champion Mark Spitz is available for personal appearances at your next event - contact us today to arrange an appearance.

Source: http://www.netglimse.com

Tags: mark spitz biography,mark spitz gold medals,mark spitz olympics,mark spitz photo,mark spitz bio,mark spitz 1972

Michael Phelps Mother

Michael Phelps Mother : Debbie Phelps

Michael Phelps Parents: Fred and Debbie Phelps (divorced)

Michael Phelps Profile:

Date of Birth : 30 June 1985, Baltimore, Maryland, USA


Birth Name : Michael Fred Phelps


Nickname : Flying Fish


Height : 6' 4" (1.93 m)


Michael Phelps Mini Biography

Michael Phelps is the newest phenomenon to take the swimming world by storm. Before the Olympics started, rumor had it that a 19 year-old from Baltimore was thinking of trying to match or even surpass Mark Spitz's legendary seven gold medals. By his fourth race with one gold and two bronze it was obvious he couldn't tie it but instead he could match Russian gymanst's Alexander Dityatin's record of eight medals in one Olympics. Every race after the two bronze he came away with gold. After his seventh race he did a truly noble thing by handing over his butterfly leg on the 4 x 200m Freestyle relay to Ian Crocker a rival and now a friend. To everyone this was deemed the most selfless act of the games but to Michael it was just giving his team mate another chance. Throughout the entire week of competition he barely managed to sleep so when he finally got to rest he went to check out how the dominant women's teams were doing and enjoying the culture and atmosphere in Athens. The success in Athens was amazing and now he will begin training for the 2008 Olympics in Bejing.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Annie Bansmer


Trade Mark

His black Cadillac Escalade

The Condor Flap: to loosen up for a swimming competition, he bends over and flaps his long arms up and down like a large bird.


Trivia

Siblings: 2 sisters, Whitney (born 1978) and Hilary (born 1980)

Parents: Fred and Debbie Phelps (divorced)

He won 6 gold and 2 bronze medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Sponsors: Speedo, Omega, AT&T, Powerbar, Visa, Argent Mortgage

He was the youngest male Olympian since 1932 (he was only 15 when he made it in the 2000 Olympics).

Has a street named after him in his hometown Baltimore,Maryland.

First person under one minute and 55 seconds in 200m fly with world record swim.

His sister, Whitney, was a member of the 1995 World Championship team.

Became the youngest male swimmer ever to set a world record at the age of 15 years and nine months, breaking the record in the 200m butterfly.

Attending the University of Michigan (2004)

"Phelps Flys", winning 8 medals at the 2004 Olympics, was ranked #17 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Most Awesome Sports Moments (of the last 15 years)". [17 July 2005 issue]

Winner of the "Sports - Choice Athlete (male)" category at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards.

His feet have been referred to as "fins" by the media, because he wears a size 14 shoe. His wing span measures in at 6 foot 7 inches.

Graduated from Towson High School (2003).

World Swimmer of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Has won 17 titles at World Championships between 2001 and 2007.

Currently holds six long course world records.

Grew up in the Rodgers Forge section of Baltimore County just south of Towson.

Michael PhelpsPersonal Quotes:

"Winning the gold in Greece was a dream come true but going on this tour with Ian and Lenny and meeting the young swimming stars of tomorrow has been simply incredible."

"I have my family and friends, so really I'm just another high school kid."

"I listen to Eminem on my headphones. I don't know the name of it but I think that just listening to that fires me up. It's working so far I just hope it keeps up." - Michael Phelps

Where Are They Now

(October 2004) Resting up a sore back at home and getting ready to start training at University of Michigan.

Source: http://www.imdb.com

Photo Credit: timesonline.co.uk

Debbie Phelps puts her hand on the USA's Olympic hero and her son Michael Phelps

Debbie Phelps has a hand in sharing son's Olympic glory

Debbie Phelps puts her hand on the USA's Olympic hero and her son Michael Phelps after he completed his goal of winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Games.

BEIJING — Over the last nine days, Debbie Phelps has met President Bush and the First Lady. She's had Kobe Bryant and LeBron James blowing her kisses from across a packed arena.
Friends told her the Baltimore Ravens showed her son swimming on the Jumbotron during a preseason game, that Bruce Springsteen dedicated the song Born in the USA to him during a concert.

And she's watched her son, 23-year-old Michael Phelps, win a record eight Olympic gold medals, the single greatest Olympic performance ever. He also has the most career golds of any Olympian, with 14.

"It's just like, 'Wow.' It's so much to embrace, to put your arms around," she says.

She could do little more over those nine days than give her son a hug and a rub on the head every day as he stopped to say hello while walking around the pool deck with another gold medal hanging around his neck. Each time he gave her the flowers he got on the medals podium — her hotel room now looks like a florist shop.

She's having the flowers preserved, she says. Her son is saving every swim cap, every suit, every pair of goggles and every article of clothing he wore.

"I have the memories, I have pictures, I'll have the medals forever," Phelps says.

He's likely to have the eight-golds record for a very long time. It had been 36 years since Mark Spitz won seven golds at the 1972 Olympics.

"The Olympic Games live on heroes," International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said as he left the Water Cube after watching Phelps' final race, in the 4x100-meter medley relay, on Sunday. "How do you compare him to (legendary Finnish runner) Paavo Nurmi? To Jesse Owens? Michael is very high up there, in a very elite league."

It had been eight years since Phelps first put Spitz's mark in his sights. At the 2004 Olympics, Phelps finished just short of it, with six gold and eight bronze medals.

"What he did still is an amazing feat," Phelps says of Spitz, "and will always be an amazing accomplishment in the swimming world and also the Olympics. Being able to have something like that to shoot for, I think, it made those days when you were tired and didn't want to be there and you just wanted to go home and sleep (instead of) work out — it made those days easier."

Phelps made some of his eight victories in Beijing look easy. He lowered his own world record in his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, by more than a second. He won the 200-meter freestyle by nearly two seconds.

Others were nail-biting dramatic. The U.S. men's victory in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay Monday took a superhuman anchor leg by Jason Lezak to pass France. Phelps' victory in the 100-meter butterfly Saturday took a miraculous finish by Phelps, who imperceptibly touched out silver medalist Milorad Cavic of Serbia for a winning margin of one one-hundredth of a second.

"The term 'Spitzean feat' might be kind of outdated now. It might be a 'Phelpsean feat,'" U.S. teammate Aaron Peirsol says..

The 100 fly was the only event in which Phelps did not set a world record. He was more disappointed, though, in his finishing time in the 200-meter butterfly. In that race, his goggles started filling with water as he dove in off the starting blocks. By the time he headed for his last turn, he couldn't see at all. He had to count strokes to know when to turn.

He ripped off his goggles in frustration when it was over. He had won and set a world record, but his time wasn't as fast as he set out to do.

No one watching was disappointed.

"Our whole country can be proud of him," says Peter Ueberroth, U.S. Olympic committee chairman. "Maybe in this era, nobody makes us prouder."

Bush told Phelps in a congratulatory call Sunday from his Texas ranch that "if you can handle eight gold medals, you can handle anything."

Through it all, even as Bush came to watch his first race and the NBA stars playing on the U.S. Olympic basketball team came to others, Phelps stayed even keel. While they were eating at the athletes' village, his U.S. swimming teammates would ask him if he realized what he was doing.

"He was like, 'Man, pizza's good today,'" Brendan Hansen says.

They could see what he was doing, and as the meet wore on, his teammates were asked many questions about it.

"I think years and years down the road we'll realize more and more how amazing he is and how special he really is," says Natalie Coughlin, who won six medals in Beijing.

Hansen tried to put it in context for non-swimming fans.

"He just made the pressure putt in the U.S. Open to win it, just won the Tour de France and he just knocked out Muhammad Ali in the last round. He just did all three of those things in a week," Hansen says.

The record-breaker came Sunday in the 4x100-meter medley relay, in which Peirsol swam the opening backstroke leg, Hansen the breaststroke leg, Phelps the butterfly leg and Lezak the anchor freestyle leg.

After Lezak climbed out of the water, the four U.S. swimmers huddled like a football team on the pool deck. In the huddle, Phelps' teammates congratulated him.

"We're all very proud — and I'll speak for myself especially — to be part of something as special as this and to end this wonderful meet on such a high note," Peirsol says.

When the huddle broke, Phelps acknowledged the crowd's cheers by raising both arms and pumping his fists in the air. Moments later, he stepped on the medal podium for an eighth and final time, his eyes welling up as they had been all week as he watched the U.S. flag raised and listened to the national anthem.

"I don't want to forget anything that happened," Phelps says. "With getting emotional like I was on the awards stands, those are moments and experiences that will live with me forever."

They'll live with his mom as well, who let the tears flow every time she saw her son on the podium.

"There's not one single word that can express how I feel," she says. "I can say proud, I can say honored, I can say it's a performance you want to see your child achieve."

Source: http://www.usatoday.com