Mark Spitz was not the only gold medal winner on the U.S. Men’s Swim Team in the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich. A University of Tennessee phenom by the name of David Edgar also claimed the most coveted medal in all of sports. Edgar won his gold medal on the 400-meter freestyle relay team which broke the world record in a time of 3:26.42. And yes, Mark Spitz was on that same team. SMU’s Jerry Heidenreich and Indiana’s John Murphy rounded out the foursome. Edgar swam first. “I remember leading off and Russia’s leadoff man barely touched me out,” he recalled. “Murphy caught the Russians and we were in a dead heat halfway through. Heidenreich got a good lead in the third leg and Spitz had no trouble bringing it home.” Edgar’s collegiate career is just as impressive as his Olympic glory. He is the only swimmer to win the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events three consecutive years at the NCAA championships. By the way, he defeated Mark Spitz – who won seven gold medals in Munich – three consecutive years at the NCAA championships in the 50-yard freestyle. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Edgar was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1996, along with fellow Volunteer Matt Vogel and former Knoxvillian Frank Dempsey. David Edgar brought pride and excellence to the University of Tennessee, not to mention the ultimate prize: Olympic gold.
