Legends: Mark Spitz

In the Olympics of 1972 the swimming pool belonged to one man whose drive, ambition and sheer single-mindedness propelled him to a record medal haul.

At Munich, the 22-year-old American Mark Spitz set out in a quest to win seven gold medals. Eight days later he was celebrating a clean sweep.

He had won two golds, a silver and bronze four years earlier in Mexico but that proved to be just a taster of what this phenomenal swimmer could achieve.

For the record, Spitz took gold in the 100 and 200m freestyle, the 100 and 200m butterfly, the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays and the 4x100 medley relay.

As a youngster, Spitz's father had prophetically told him that 'swimming isn't everything - winning is'.

In 1972, despite an exhausting programme of 13 races in a little over a week, Spitz kept on winning and winning.