The gold medal winning exploits of Mark Spitz at the 1972 Olympics will forever be etched in folklore, and now he's unveiled what gave him the edge over his rivals.
Spitz left Germany has the hero of the Games, having won seven gold medals, and set seven new world records to boot. He'd previously won two gold medals at the 1968 Game in Mexico, and his efforts in Munich remained a record until compatriot Michael Phelps won eight titles in Beijing in 2008.
Spitz, now 72, attended Indiana University in the build-up to Munich so he could train with legendary Indiana Hoosiers swimming coach Doc Counsilman. His searing displays in training saw him dubbed 'Mark the Shark' by impressed teammates.
But now he's revealed it wasn't just lengths of the pool that inspired his golden summer. He also tricked Russian swimmers into growing facial hair, on the false pretence it would gain them time.
"I went to the Olympic trials and everyone was talking about the moustache, so I said, ‘I’m not shaving it off.'" he explained, in an interview with The Times . "I had intentions (of shaving) when I went to Munich, but then I went to the swimming pool for one last training session.
"I wasn’t supposed to be there, because we’d used up our quota of sessions, and the Russians were there, but they said I could use the outside lane. When I got out of the pool, the Russian coach asked whether my moustache slowed me down. I said, ‘No, it deflects the water from my mouth, that’s why I broke the world record a few weeks ago. I’m not shaving it off.’"
Russian personnel clearly weren't well researched on the subject, and Spitz added: "The next year, I had to smile when I saw that all the Russian male swimmers had moustaches. Even though I’d decided I was going to shave it off in Munich, I decided just to go with it. And I’m glad I did.”
Sadly, never again did the sporting world get to see Spitz and his famous moustache at an Olympic Games. Despite being just 22, he opted to retire from the sport in favour of earning money from endorsement deals, which at the time meant an indefinite ban from competing.
At 41, he attempted a comeback for the 1992 Games in Barcelona after a filmmaker offered him a million dollars if he succeeded in qualifying. A cleanly shaven Spitz fell short though, finishing some two seconds off the qualifying time.
