Olympic swimming legend Mark Spitz to speak at IU Southeast

26th January 2017

NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Nine-time Olympic swimming gold medalist and former world record holder Mark Spitz will share stories of his Olympic experiences and real estate industry expertise for the annual Sanders Speaker Series at IU Southeast.

Spitz will be the keynote speaker at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the Richard K. Stem Concert Hall in the Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center at IU Southeast.

Spitz, who won eight individual NCAA titles as an Indiana University swimmer, won a record setting seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich – a record that stood until Michael Phelps earned eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Spitz set 33 world records and won a total of 11 Olympic medals (nine gold, one silver and one bronze) during his competitive career. He was voted “Athlete of the Century” in water sports and one of 6 “Greatest Olympians” by Sports Illustrated in 2000.

As his focus on swimming slowly began to fade, he became an entrepreneur. Spitz started a successful real estate company in Beverly Hills and continued to capitalize on his success in a recording breaking way. In 2008, Mark released a self-published book “The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion.”

For the first time since it’s inception in 2010, this year’s Sanders Speaker Series will feature two speakers. John Schnatter, founder & CEO of Papa John’s, will speak at IU Southeast on March 15. The Sanders Speaker Series is named after Judge Carlton and Sue Sanders, whose generous donation established the Sanders Speaker Series Endowment in 2008. The couple’s goal for the series is to bring high-profile speakers to the University to speak to the community about business and the economy.

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