Why You Should Watch Mark Spitz’s Documentary “72 – A Gathering of Champions”

With child-like excitement I pushed off work creating a quiet space to soak up every second of Becoming an Olympic Legend, episode three in the docuseries 72 – A Gathering of Champions.

Mark Spitz was my hero. As a kid I had no time for Superman or Batman. Spitz was it, the greatest Olympian of all-time. Still, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this dedicated documentary episode. It might be poorly produced, I worried. At the very least, I’d enjoy seeing Spitz return to Munich, Germany 50 years past his 1972 Olympic Games where he won seven gold medals all in world record time.

I froze in surprise when saw the producer credits. Another Mark, Mark Ciardi, appeared onscreen. Ciardi’s the President of game1 and CEO of Select Films. I knew Ciardi from my entertainment days before SwimSwam. Back then he was one-half of the producing dream-team Mayhem, Disney’s secret weapon production company behind films such as  The Rookie and Miracle. Ciardi was young, not far from his pro baseball turn for the Milwaukee Brewers, and he was powerful in Hollywood—but you’d never know it. The instant you meet him, his humanity comes through. When the 2004 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials were hosted in Long Beach, I invited Ciardi to make the drive with me down from LA. He experienced elite swimming, and he got an early glimpse of young Michael Phelps.

So, in addition to surprise when I saw Ciardi’s producing credit, I thought one thing. This is going to be great because I know Ciardi has a deep love and respect for story.

Style-wise this episode leans into the power of narrative, leaning into the weight this experience had – and still has – on Spitz. There are no special effects or overreaching director devices used to elicit cheap emotion. You walk with Spitz, in Munich, into his memory, and somehow the moments feel immediate. The emotional impact on Spitz is a slow burn, building as subtle wrinkles on his face as he narrates formative moments in his age group swimming career and each race at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.

After watching Spitz’s episode I sent him a text — I had trouble watching your episode. You’re too good-looking. It’s like staring into the sun!

It was joke, probably to decompress from the emotion I was feeling. Men do that. We move away from what we feel when it’s too much. The truth is I cried throughout the film, and I couldn’t shake it when the screen went black and the credits rolled. Great stories, well told, suck you in. You get lost in their worlds.

Spitz was essentially a kid heading into the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Expectations for success were, in hindsight, overwhelming. He was favored to win the 100 fly and got silver. In the 100 free he earned bronze. Spitz doesn’t hold back talking us through these races. He doesn’t skimp on the pain and disappointment he felt. He pulls you through the full range of his emotions which culminate with him getting last in the 200m butterfly, an event in which he held the world record.

Over the next four years, Spitz journeys back from that pain. His time with the legendary Doc Counsilman at IU and each milestone of success are noted—but not celebrated. They unfold as incremental steps. All the while, the hurt from the 1968 Olympics haunts him. Spitz can’t shake the disappointment. Sure, on balance, he won four medals in Mexico City, but he did not swim to the best of his ability and the performance overall riddles him with regret.

The 1972 Olympics in Munich is weighted with anxiety and drama that Spitz shoulders to his very first event. And it’s the 200m butterfly. Behind the blocks flashes of Mexico City assault his head. For me, this is where great sports stories sing, the moment when it’s clear our hero is both the protagonist and antagonist. For Mark Spitz to become legend, he has to overcome his own fear.

Spitz’s episode isn’t all hard lines delineating pain and glory. There something else more meaningful throughout. Spitz is old. While he wears his age well, like a cinematic old movie star, there is this philosopher king quality in his retelling that’s authentic. 50 years has worn down any sense of ego. Spitz is threadbare and wise in his compassion for himself and what he sacrificed to make this achievement. He captivates us throughout the documentary episode with his razor-sharp memory, and in the final frames, when the camera cuts to him, the white-haired old icon walking off the Munich pool deck, you’re sad to see him go.

Many thanks to Mark Spitz for his raw vulnerability in telling his story, and thanks to Mark Ciardi for his deft hand producing this film. This is a gift to Olympic fans and to anyone who identifies as a swimmer.

See the Mark Spitz episode here: Becoming an Olympic Legend | 72 – A Gathering of Champions