arena has announced the signing of American Olympic hero Mark Spitz as a brand ambassador, 46 years after he first collaborated with the company in the pioneering days of sports sponsorship. Spitz became an iconic figure at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, winning 7 gold medals, all in world record time, and helped to propel the efforts of entrepreneur Horst Dassler as he launched the arena brand in 1973.
In winning all his events in Munich – 100m & 200m freestyle, 100m & 200m butterfly, 4x100m & 4x200m freestyle relay, and 4x100m medley relay – Spitz set a record that stood for 36 years until Michael Phelps broke it with 8 gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He remains the second-most decorated Olympian in history (in terms of gold medals: 9) behind Phelps. Back in the 70s, the image of Spitz with his 7 gold medals and his moustache – grown as an act of rebellion in an era when other swimmers were shaving their body hair – transcended him from Olympic hero to cultural icon across the globe.
Spitz proved to be a pioneer not only through his performances in the pool, he was also a trailblazer in athlete sponsorship. Not long after his herculean effort in Munich, at the young age of 22 Spitz retired from swimming – still an amateur sport…
