If he’d had a mind to, Mark Spitz could have celebrated on a far grander scale. He could have whooped it up with coaches, teammates and his legion of fans who now were everywhere in Munich. But he wasn’t a party animal, and even on this night of epochal triumph, he wouldn’t become one. Nine days of pressure—actually, four years of pressure—had been lifted from his shoulders, leaving him relieved and happy but with emotions in check. For him, the cobbled-together, late-night dinner at Käfer-Schänke would be celebration enough.
He had ended his athletic career in glory. Shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4, 1972, 50 years ago, in the final event of the swimming competition at the Munich Olympics, the men’s 400-meter medley relay, Spitz entered the water for the last time. Swimming the butterfly leg, he helped propel the U.S. team to victory, completing a personal feat that redefined perfection: seven events, seven gold medals, seven world records.
Illustration by The Sporting Press; Kurt Strumpf/AP (terrorist); Neil Leifer (police); John G. Zimmerman (Spitz, 2)
