30 Olympic athletes who dominated their events

11. Mark Spitz

The summer of 1972 belonged to Mark “The Shark” Spitz. Four years earlier, Spitz had made headlines by predicting he’d come away from the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City with six gold medals. Surprisingly enough, the talented American swimmer came away with only two, in addition to one silver and one bronze. Most people would still be happy with four Olympic medals, but Spitz had fallen short of his own goal and disappointed himself and his fans, so he hit the pools determined to come back stronger and faster than ever by the time the Games moved to Germany.

Not only did Mark the Shark finally win those six gold medals in Munich – he won seven, and he set new world records in every single race along the way. Whether it was freestyle, freestyle relay, butterfly, or medley relay, Spitz simply could not be stopped that summer. His seven gold medals at a single Olympics was an untouchable record for over three decades until fellow American aquatic star Michael Phelps bested it with eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Spitz remains one of only five Olympians to win nine or more career gold medals. The other four who hold this honor? They’re all included in this list’s top ten remaining athletes, beginning with Carl Lewis.

Next: 10. Carl Lewis