Mark Spitz Quotes

United States, Swimmer
February 10, 1950

Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer, nine-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in 7 events. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, an achievement surpassed only by fellow American 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.

In everyday life there is always manana. There is no urgency.
Mark Spitz
- Life
- Everyday
I walked away from the sport for 17 years, then started swimming again recently in a master's program.
Mark Spitz
- Swimming

I swam my brains out.
Mark Spitz
Swimming isn't everything, winning is.
Mark Spitz
- Winning
- Swimming
Because a known fact is better than an unknown fact.
Mark Spitz
- Unknown
I'm at the depot, and I'm not going anywhere. That's better to deal with than having to deal with the unknown. And the unknown is they don't want to fail. They don't want to pay the price unless there's a guarantee they're going to get there.
Mark Spitz
- Unknown
Well my thoughts on American swimming are that our prospects look favorable, but we may not have as strong a showing in the gold medal count as in previous Olympics. But I am not coaching.
Mark Spitz
- May
- American
- Strong
If you fail to prepare, you're prepared to fail.
Mark Spitz

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.
Mark Spitz