Mark Spitz

Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics, all in world record time—the greatest single-Games performance in history until Michael Phelps surpassed it in 2008, a benchmark that remains 36 years faster than any other swimmer. Across his career (1968–1972), Spitz earned 9 gold medals total, and he was the first athlete to win 7 golds at one Olympics, outperforming #5 Simone Biles in single-Games gold count. Sports Illustrated named him among the 40 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century.