Who's the man that we admire?

After 36 years, Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals has been surpassed by Michael Phelps. My main memory of the 1972 Olympics is staying up to watch the Tonight Show one night, when Johnny Carson gave this joke during his "Carnac" routine.

A: Mark Spitz
Q: What does Mark Spitz do when he gets water in his mouth?

After I heard that joke, I started to realize that "grown-up" humor really wasn't all it was cracked up to be!

I was on a swim team for five years (ages 7-12) and started swimming because of Mark Spitz. I didn't have any delusions of Oympic greatness, but was pretty competitive in my age group. I swam against another future Olympic hero (Matt Biondi) when we were both 11 years old. I had my best time ever in the 50m free and this Biondi kid from Moraga beat it by five seconds! That was my last year of competitive swimming.

Fun with Olympians: This guy got a silver medal in the 100m dash and this guy finished fifth in the 1500m freestyle. You're never too old for a career change!