Bios of Olympic athletes on the Panasonic Mobile Tour

Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 174 lbs.
Born: February 10, 1950
Birthplace: Modesto, CA
Residence: Los Angeles
College: Indiana University

Mark Spitz

By the time Mark Spitz won his seventh swimming gold medal and established seven world records in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, he had captured the admiration of millions of people around the world who had seen his incredible performances on television.

One of the most celebrated amateur athletes of all time; Mark became a major endorsement figure of large companies following the Olympic Games. He appeared in television commercials, endorsed major corporate products and services and made personal appearances and speaking engagements. Mark Spitz went to work for ABC Sports in 1976 and worked on many sports presentations, including coverage of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

Mark Spitz's records of swimming brilliance began long before the 1972 Olympic Games. Born in Modesto, California on February 10, 1950, Mark held 17 national age group swimming records at the age of 10. Furthermore, in the 1968 Olympic Games at Mexico City, he captured two gold, one silver and one bronze medal. Between the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games, he completed his studies at Indiana University. In 1971, he won four national and two college championships, set seven world records and two U.S. records. That year, Mark won the Sullivan Award as the outstanding U.S. amateur athlete.

Mark has appeared in national television commercials, endorsed major companies and has become one of the countries most sought after motivational speakers. Between 2000 and 2002, Mark helped to raise more than one million dollars for the United States Olympic Committee through the efforts of the Merrill Lynch Financial Group, and other organizations directly associated with the USOC. In 2000, Mark was voted Athlete of the Century in water sports and was one of the six best Olympians of the Century voted by Sports Illustrated Magazine. Recently the International Olympic Committee selected Mark as one of the five athletes of the century. Currently Mark is on the Laureus World Sports Academy working on projects world wide in concert with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

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Height: 4' 10"
Weight: 100 lbs.
Born: November 19, 1977
Birthplace: Tucson, AZ
Residence: Washington D.C.
College: Stanford

Kerri Strug

Kerri Strug earned nationwide stardom for her heroic efforts at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. After injuring her ankle on her first vault attempt, Kerri needed to land her second and final vault in order to seal victory over Russia for the team combined gymnastics gold medal. With millions of people watching, and two torn ligaments in her leg, Kerri got the job done with a solid landing before collapsing to her hands and knees. She was carried to the award ceremony where she received her first gold medal. It was the first time the U.S. Gymnastics Team won gold.

In 1992, Kerri was the youngest U.S. Athlete at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. That year, she also won a bronze medal on the U.S. Gymnastics Team. In 1996, she won a gold medal at the America's Cup.

Kerri trained with legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi. She received a bachelors degree in communications and a masters degree in Social Psychology at Stanford University. She currently works for the United States Justice Department and formerly worked at the White House in community affairs.

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