The greatest Olympic athlete from every U.S. state

California: Mark Spitz

Sport: Swimming

Olympics: Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972

No list of the best Olympians would be complete without swimmer Mark Spitz on it. Until Michael Phelps came along, Spitz was the most accomplished man in the sport the USA had ever seen. Born in 1950, Spitz and his family moved to Hawaii when he was two years old and he swam almost every day. His family moved back to California when he was six but his love with the water was already set.

Spitz got his first taste of international swimming at the very young age of 15 when he went to the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv. His age didn’t hinder him at all as he took four gold medals and was named the most outstanding athlete at the international Israeli event often referred to as the “Jewish Olympics.” He took that momentum into the 1968 Olympic Games at Mexico City and entered with an astounding 10 world records to his name. He earned four medals (two gold, a silver, and a bronze) but only two as an individual and viewed it as a disappointment. Spitz made up for his perceived failure in Mexico in 1972 when he won a record seven gold medals in Munich.

In a four year span from 1968 to 1927, Spitz racked up nine Olympic medals, eight NCAA titles, a plethora of AAU medals and Pan American Games medals, and set 33 world records. It’s hard to match that four-year span from any athlete and Spitz will always remain as one of the best athletes to ever represent the United States.

Honorable Mention: Michelle Kwan, figure skating in Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002