What it is saying is that someone who was a world champion and who takes care of himself with a 17-year rest and applies the proper training techniques and perseverance could be successful.

Meaning of the quote

The quote suggests that if someone was once a world champion, and they take good care of themselves by resting for a long time (like 17 years), and they work hard using the right training methods and keep trying, they could become successful again. The key ideas are that taking a break, using the right techniques, and never giving up can lead to success, even for someone who was already a champion in the past.

About Mark Spitz

Mark Spitz was an American swimmer who dominated the 1972 Olympics, winning a record seven gold medals. He held the record for most Olympic golds until Michael Phelps surpassed it in 2008. Spitz was a prolific world record holder and one of the most successful athletes in Olympic history.

More about the author

More quotes from Mark Spitz

By making a comeback, I’m changing the attitude of people toward me. If I’d known that people would react so enthusiastically, I’d have done it years ago.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I swam my brains out.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

Everyone loves to be loved.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

What it is saying is that someone who was a world champion and who takes care of himself with a 17-year rest and applies the proper training techniques and perseverance could be successful.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

It has nothing to do with swimming. That happens to be my sport. I’m trying to see how far I can go.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I’m at the depot, and I’m not going anywhere. That’s better to deal with than having to deal with the unknown. And the unknown is they don’t want to fail. They don’t want to pay the price unless there’s a guarantee they’re going to get there.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

In everyday life there is always manana. There is no urgency.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

Life is true to form; records are meant to be broken.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

Yes, I believe that the art of winning is through intimidation, and not necessarily do you have to speak about it.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

All things being equal, if we could simulate the same scenario, he has a lot more difficult task. He’s elected to swim six individual events, as opposed to what I elected to do, which was four.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

My biggest loss was the Olympics. I just can’t forget losing. I never will.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

Past performance speaks a tremendous amount about one’s ability and likelihood for success.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I just tried to keep my cool and continue with my race plan: to win.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I always wanted to be a dentist from the time I was in high school, and I was accepted to dental school in the spring of 1972. I was planning to go, but after the Olympics there were other opportunities.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

There are times I might coach one or two workouts a year when the regular coach gets caught in traffic.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

If he wins seven golds and ties what I did, then it would be like I was the first man on the moon and he became the second. If he wins more than seven, then he becomes the first man on Mars. We’d both be unique.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I got beat real hard and heavy in the Olympic Games in 1968 by a guy who swam an incredible race one time in his whole life, but he did it right at the right time. I’d like to be that guy now. Maybe that’s what I’m going to have to pull out of my hat to make the Olympic team.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I’m trying to do the best I can. I’m not concerned with tomorrow, but with what goes on today.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I walked away from the sport for 17 years, then started swimming again recently in a master’s program.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I wasn’t able to lower my cholesterol so they put me on a statin drug. It is called lipitor. I was able to lower my level in about 30 days from above 300 to below 200.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

The memories of the Munich games for me are of triumph and tragedy.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

When I went to the Olympics, I had every intention of shaving the mustache off, but I realized I was getting so many comments about it – and everybody was talking about it – that I decided to keep it.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

Well my thoughts on American swimming are that our prospects look favorable, but we may not have as strong a showing in the gold medal count as in previous Olympics. But I am not coaching.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

The only side effect of too much training is that you get into better shape. There is nothing wrong with that.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

I am not qualified to talk about the diet. Simply because I am not a dietician.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

Because a known fact is better than an unknown fact.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

And if you have high cholesterol, you would feel the same as if you had low cholesterol because there are no side effects, no symptoms of having high cholesterol.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

One of the most difficult things for people who have been successful in sports is adapting to the daily world where you can’t get an answer from someone until 5 o’clock tomorrow. There is always an excuse. Living 40 or 50 years like that doesn’t get too exciting after a while.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

The pool is terrible, but that doesn’t have much to do with my record swims. That’s all mental attitude.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

Swimming isn’t everything, winning is.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

In my day, at 12 years old, which was 38 years ago, we worked out in summer months for two and a half hours. Today someone in that age group might work out for four hours, two hours in the morning and two at night.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer

So in my mind I own a lot of house records still.

Mark Spitz

American Olympic swimmer