Mark Spitz
Many might underestimate the incredibility of Michael Phelps breaking down the swimming records of Mark Spitz, but do not overlook the fact that the American superstar athlete of the seventies was once known to have been untouchable for decades. Hearing him speak may sound as American as apple pie, but he was born in Russia. When he was just two years old, he moved to America and dipped his arms and practiced strokes in Hawaii for the first time. He eventually moved and refined his art in Sacramento, California. He won nine gold medals all in all.
Mark Spitz
Amanda Beard
Amanda Beard won a gold and two silver medals at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta at the young age of 14. The photographs of her hugging her teddy bear on the podium are some of the most fondly remembered images from the Games when she became the second to the youngest American to win a medal in gold. Until 2012, Beard still competes in the Olympics, though she did not qualify. She succeeded in winning all seven Olympic medals. In addition to her sports career, she served as an animal rights activist, a sports correspondent, and a model.
Amanda Beard