My Opinion Counts

Even though Mark Spitz was not in the pool, Mark Spitz was the one Michael Phelps had to beat during the 2008 Olympic Games. Spitz won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

From Wikipedia:

After his retirement at age 22, he was managed by the William Morris Agency, which tried to get him into show business while his name was still hot. In 1973–74, Spitz appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and TV series such as The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and Emergency! as paramedic Pete Barlow. Spitz went to work for ABC Sports in 1976 and worked on many sports presentations, including coverage of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1985 he appeared as a TV announcer in Challenge of a Lifetime. He continued as a broadcaster for some time, but within a few years, he had all but vanished as a public figure.

As his endorsements faded he started a successful real-estate company in Beverly Hills. Spitz is currently self-employed as a corporate spokesperson and motivational speaker. However, Sports Yahoo! lists his occupation as a stock broker and motivational speaker.

Hubby and I were wondering why Spitz was not in the crowd watching Michael Phelps swim at the Olympics. I did a bit of googling and found out he was not invited! Spitz was not happy about the snub.

Spitz and Suzy Weiner, a UCLA theater student and part-time model, were married on May 6, 1973. They have two sons, Matthew (born October 1981) and Justin (born September 1991).

Are you aware of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”? 3,800 refugees, dubbed the Lost Boys of Sudan by reporters and aid workers, have been resettled in cities around the United States. These were nearly all boys who had been separated by relatives during the war in Sudan. Can you imagine your child being separated from you and then left to fend for themselves in a war torn country? They endured months of wandering during which thousands died of hunger, disease or attacks by bandits or wild animals.

Olympic officials have chosen Lopez Lomong to carry the American flag during Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Games. Teammates chose him Wednesday as a way to honor his and other’s struggles and to send a message to human rights organizations that these atrocities are not being ignored.

Lomong is a member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes committed to raising awareness about chronic violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

He was among roughly 3,800 refugees, dubbed the Lost Boys of Sudan by reporters and aid workers, who were resettled in cities around the United States.