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Spitz was born in Modesto, Calif., but moved with his parents to Honolulu when he was two. As his mother Lenore recalls: "We went to Waikiki every day. You should have seen that little boy dash into the ocean. He'd run like he was trying to commit suicide." That early drive may well have been imparted by his father, who admits to being a "forceful individual." His pragmatic creed, repeated often to Mark: "Swimming isn't everything. Winning is."
After four years, the Spitz family (enlarged by two daughters, Heidi and Nancy) returned to California, this time to Sacramento, where his father eventually enrolled Mark in the swimming program at the downtown Y.M.C.A. There Mark won nearly all his races; his only losses were to a pair of young pool hustlers from the nearby Arden Hills Swim Club. Not taking kindly to defeat, Arnold Spitz promptly turned his young son over to Arden Hills Coach Sherman Chavoor, who has been Mark's mentor—officially and unofficially—ever since. The boy learned fast. At age ten he set his first U.S. record—31 sec. in the 50-yd. butterfly—a record that still stands today for the nine-ten age group.
Rivalry. When Mark's family moved to Walnut Creek, Calif, in 1961, Chavoor suggested that he join the program at the prestigious Santa Clara Swim Club under the direction of crusty George Haines—who cast an appraising eye at Spitz's first few performances and predicted: "He'll probably be the best swimmer in the world." That kind of praise was not given lightly; among Haines' stable of champions was Don Schollander, who won four gold medals at Tokyo in 1964. Mark, then 14, joined the club that year, and immediately became a formidable rival of Schollander, who was four years his senior. In 1966, showing early promise as a distance swimmer, Spitz came within .2 seconds of breaking the world record in the 1,500-yd. freestyle and qualified for the A.A.U. National Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Spitz remembers: "I had two days off so I decided as a lark to swim in both the 100-and 200-yd. butterfly just to keep busy." He won the 100, but his exultation and subsequent letdown cost him the next three events.
In 1967, however, Mark loosed a freshet of stunning performances; he broke five U.S. and three world marks, took five gold medals in the Pan-American games at Winnipeg and was named Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine. That did not sit too well with Schollander, who was still considered by many to be king of the aquatics hill. Haines, who had been selected to coach the U.S. men's team at Mexico City, did little to smooth over the rivalry with his candid statement: "Right now, Spitz is better than Schollander." As Chavoor puts it: "Mark wanted to be friends with Schollander and all those other big studs, but they didn't want any part of Mark. So he withdrew." As hurt as he was flippant and cocksure, Spitz made his extravagant predictions for victory in the 1968 Olympics, thereby abrading the already raw relations with his teammates. In fact, many of them began rooting for him to lose.