Mark Spitz wins Men's 200m Freestyle - FULL EVENT | Munich 1972

[@OlympicsAquatics]

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[@luispastor8089]

Full moustache, no cap, no googles. Absolutely 0 time underwater. Impressive

[@sylvainguinepain5624]

And look a the start from the German swimmer who finished third. It's like he never practiced the start before. He lost half a second. What about the guy who jumps in the pool behind the judges just before the race before getting back out. The sport has changed so much.

[@fsinjin60]

@@sylvainguinepain5624 the standing without grabbing start was a dying standard back then. Womens record 1’52”98 set in 2009.

[@fsinjin60]

@@sylvainguinepain5624 the German had a wig for the medal ceremony. He had shaved clean (recently - check the tan line).

[@lloydkline1518]

Greatest swimmer ever

[@TammyGordin]

And no bilateral breathing and his extension from the shoulder was not at 100% until the last lap.

[@mariadelmaredoverdaguer3740]

🎉Mark Spitz, the best swimmer of all time, without a swimsuit made by NASA, without a hat, without glasses, simply and plainly, as natural as swimming was then, without nonsense and also with a thick mustache!💐❤

[@Bread02289]

"hat" "glasses" do you even know that the swimsuits were banned in 2009

[@DF-5]

No competition

[@CindyMcKitrick-vp9rg]

This Olympics: Earth shattering. Like so many events in the years surrounding; cataclysmic. On a lighter note, it resulted in my adorning this 16 year old's bedroom door with a six foot poster of Mark Spitz in the aftermath.

[@writethisthat3613]

How about that Steve Genter?! Suffered a collapsed lung days before his race and his doctor advised him not to swim, but he swam anyway! He won silver! Incredible!

[@moimeme6533]

and breaking the Olympic record and nearly the WR

[@yonggeun4222]

@@moimeme6533 1:52.78 is slow af, world record is 1:42.00

[@moimeme6533]

@@yonggeun4222 yes we know that, duh. He broke the OR 50 years ago 🤦‍♂🤦‍♀🤦

[@kinpatsu6366]

And look at the acne on his back. He looks like he did a cycle of anabolic steroids.

[@BlueHopi144]

@@yonggeun4222 we knew it dude ....this is not slow because u could not even get to 1.52 yourself ....

[@teentypist2345]

If it took 30 years for this race, imagine how long it’ll be for the 2021 Tokyo races rip

[@gbone7581]

50 years, so have patience for the Tokyo race.🤣

[@brianmcd9492]

This is what Legends are made of, pure skill and that famous moustache of Spitz beating all others including Charles Bronson and Salvador dali 🙂 well done Mark

[@thesweetnotes]

😆 😆 😆 omg I haven't laughed more all day. Thank you

[@pedrorodrigues7285]

This is a really legend.

[@_theamanalo]

swimming without goggles on, that's impressive 👏🏼

[@fsinjin60]

Goggles are really not necessary. I am amazed that backstrokers and fifty meter sprinters wear them when they race.

[@sylvainguinepain5624]

@@fsinjin60 there is a reason 100% of swimmers use goggles these days. They are indispensable.

[@fsinjin60]

@@sylvainguinepain5624 Indispensable? Why? They could swim one length with their eyes closed. I found racing backstroke was worse with goggles (spotting flags) until the dolphin kick conversion was allowed and people would do most of a lap under water. 50m free sprint: One length race, no turns = does not need goggles. There is absolutely nothing to look for.

[@pmatq5004]

@@fsinjin60 There absolutely is a need for goggles in a 50m race regardless of stroke. Water gets in your eyes and that can affect performance. Every little detail counts towards your race especially in a highly competitive event such as the 50 meters. Beating a best time or world record is within hundredths of a second.

[@fsinjin60]

@@pmatq5004 very superstitious. For 25 seconds you can shut your eyes, not breathe and paddle to the wall

[@Sargebri]

Spitz almost got into a bit of hot water after the awards ceremony. After he received his medal and after the anthem was played he raised his Adidas shoes in celebration. Some thought he was making a commercial endorsement and if that was true he could have been expelled from the games. However, Spitz was able to convince the powers that be that he was not making a commercial endorsement and was able to continue on his historic quest.

[@s_koci02]

Legend

[@chrisverby3047]

It looks like Spitz opened fast, coasted in the second and third 50s, then just methodically put everyone away in the final 50. Brilliant swim. I think it would have been much closer, or there might have been a different result, if Genter's lung had not previously collapsed.

[@hugoingelhammar6163]

The start is so interesting, like another world compared to now. Some just stand with their arms out in the air, one guy bellyflops in an olympic final, noone kicks under water

[@MegaWorldadventure]

That Ralph Hutton from Canada had too many burgers before the Olympics

[@1968Olympica]

Ralph held the world record in the 400m distance in 1968, a few burgers back.

[@jacquelinerussell8530]

He definitely was a cutie pie🥧 back in the day😊

[@rogerspencer9698]

love this - more of the same please

[@ashsmee]

No way todays swimmer could handle the OG ways.

[@zgrace3224]

World record now is 1min 42 seconds.. If this guy swam nowadays for sure the record would be under it. 50yrs has passed

[@sylvainguinepain5624]

I would love to see what he could have done with better, training, nutrition, equipment, ... but let's not kid ourselves 10 seconds is an eternity in swimming. 1'52" may not win you a high school meet these days.

[@zgrace3224]

@@sylvainguinepain5624 yes.... But it happened 50yrs

[@fsinjin60]

Womens record is 1’52”98 set in 2009.

[@radmilastamatova3673]

I would very much like to see an experiment with today's swimmers swimming in the same conditions as these to see what result they would show!

[@radmilastamatova3673]

@@fsinjin60 This means that the strength of men is equal to 50 years of evolution in women!

[@ubuntuposix]

1:46 ..and he spitz in the pool before the race.

[@hornetluca]

Impressive hiw much the swimming technique has changed

[@Dwooswa]

why is the audio track going in and out of phase?

[@francescojsb]

They didn't use caps on their heads, no goggles and swimwear colors were out of the question (especially the stars and stripes of the Americans), for the rest a great champion, Spitz, and swims that have nothing to envy with current swimmers.

[@maruparra1963]

This looks so ancient compared to nowadays! It’s even funny

[@moimeme6533]

US had 3 qualify for the finals in this event so apparently each nation could send at least 3 athletes per Olympic event back then (now only send 2). so now wondering whether USA ever swept all 3 medals in any single event.

[@waynehanley72]

Yes it happened ... and other countries, too. Limiting the teams to two was a cost cutting measure. I think it could leave the third best swimmer out of the competition!

[@latebloomerabroad]

Limiting the number of swimmers per country may have been a cost-cutting measure as @waynehanley72 said, but it was also a backlash against the American men and the East German women being so dominant during the 1976 Olympics. I wish they would take 3 swimmers per event still, and only the top 2 per country can qualify for the finals (as happens in gymnastics). It's a shame to deny so many great swimmers the chance to at least experience the Olympics.

[@JaDanBar97]

Demolished everyone on the final lap

[@sarahmatz4858]

What's weird is that Mark Spitz was always in Lane 4 during these 1972 races.

[@radmilastamatova3673]

In order to have maturity, it is necessary to improve records. In order to improve the records, an evolution in equipment and food is needed. But the truth is that everything must be natural to be honest!

[@colleenross8752]

It's a shame that Mark's achievements were overshadowed by the terrorist attacks. RIP to the 11 Israeli athletes

[@latebloomerabroad]

I don't think his achievements were overshadowed by the terrorists. I won't give the terrorists that much credit.

[@ronsor4859]

The commentator is Steven He lol

[@thesweetnotes]

Why u no swim faster? Timmy's uncle break mor record than you. Why you no shave mustache? Why you no dolphin kick....ayyy yahhh you could have win gold medal....just look at that. You ....are a failure. Jkjk.

[@1968Olympica]

O'm'gosh! The bronze medalist wore a wig on the podium because he had shaved his head for the competition. Just interesting!

[@beddyfrointlich574]

Weird actually , because it’s so blonde and fake and Long. He looked better bald :-)

[@motttamottta]

what's with the shoes???

[@Jeff-mp4yi]

advertisement for adidas because no one would see them if they were worn on their feet

[@kevinbishop6582]

Warm down? No problem, just swim a couple laps in your lane after the race.

[@berenangdenganmudah]

When were googles invented actually?

[@felixjaeggi9658]

spitz talked about this on the swimswam podcast. he said they had been invented at the time but weren't available to everyone since they were only produced in Australia I think. Therefore the olympic committee banned them to keep the playing field fair for everyone

[@1968Olympica]

Competitive swim goggles were on-the-rise between the '68-'72 Olympics, but not allowed in the Games until '76. I tried them but they slipped down on my dive + swimming too - never cared for them to this day when I lap swim.

[@mlifsi]

1972 - When the competition among the generic athletes and genius

[@michellegarlick6652]

I swim for a swimming club

[@mindydougherty615]

Yeah, Genter was bleeding internally off the third turn..his stitches broke.A documentary was made about him.

[@annak29]

What's with the bathrobe, wig, and make-up on bronze medalist? Looks like attempt to mock, denigrate...

[@1968Olympica]

He shaved his head for his swim; I guess he didn't want to be remembered in photos as a shaved-headed medalist.

[@flyingchimp12]

Still makes me laugh how they thought just jumping the water and swimming as quick as possible was fastest… why did no one learn to dolphin kick. Humans are incredibly inefficient, it’s so obvious yet took so long to adapt to