Word: chavoor
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Scene I: Mexico City, 1968. A gawky youngster of 18 who looks as if he could be Jerry Lewis' younger brother, perfunctorily addresses a putt. On the course beside him is his swimming coach and constant companion, Sherman Chavoor. Since the boy had recently boasted that he would become the first Olympian to win six gold medals, he needs all the relaxing he can get. Not today. A passerby happens to spot him on the green and shouts, "Hey, Jew boy, you aren't going to win any gold medals!" The brutal slur is delivered by one of the youth...
Palaver. All women seem to look pretty good to Mark these days. Over dinner with Coach Chavoor, he prattled incessantly about his cinematic potential: "Maybe I'll do some nudie movies," he said. "I'm hot to trot. Yeah, maybe I'll do a little trotting before we make the movie. One thing for sure, I don't want to end up like Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe. Those guys were looking for something they couldn't seem to find." Accustomed to such palaver, Chavoor offered his usual reply...
...swimming program at the downtown Y.M.C.A. There Mark won nearly all his races; his only losses were to a pair of young pool hustlers from the nearby Arden Hills Swim Club. Not taking kindly to defeat, Arnold Spitz promptly turned his young son over to Arden Hills Coach Sherman Chavoor, who has been Mark's mentor?officially and unofficially?ever since. The boy learned fast. At age ten he set his first U.S. record?31 sec. in the 50-yd. butterfly?a record that still stands today for the nine-ten age group...
Rivalry. When Mark's family moved to Walnut Creek, Calif, in 1961, Chavoor suggested that he join the program at the prestigious Santa Clara Swim Club under the direction of crusty George Haines?who cast an appraising eye at Spitz's first few performances and predicted: "He'll probably be the best swimmer in the world." That kind of praise was not given lightly; among Haines' stable of champions was Don Schollander, who won four gold medals at Tokyo in 1964. Mark, then 14, joined the club that year, and immediately became a formidable rival of Schollander, who was four...
...with Schollander, who was still considered by many to be king of the aquatics hill. Haines, who had been selected to coach the U.S. men's team at Mexico City, did little to smooth over the rivalry with his candid statement: "Right now, Spitz is better than Schollander." As Chavoor puts it: "Mark wanted to be friends with Schollander and all those other big studs, but they didn't want any part of Mark. So he withdrew." As hurt as he was flippant and cocksure, Spitz made his extravagant predictions for victory in the 1968 Olympics, thereby abrading the already...