Editing Mark Spitz (section)

===Maccabiah Games===
Spitz swam in his first international competition at the [[1965 Maccabiah Games|1965]] [[Maccabiah Games]] in Israel. At age 15 and weighing 130 pounds, he won four gold medals in Tel Aviv—the 400 m freestyle, the 1500 m freestyle, the 400 m individual medley, and the 800 m freestyle relay—and was named the most outstanding athlete of the Games.<ref name="JVL-Spitz-bio"/><ref name="The New York Times">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/08/25/101564576.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812010402/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/08/25/101564576.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 12, 2022|title=U.S. WINS 4 TESTS IN ISRAELI GAMES; Spitz Stars as Maccabiah Squad Dominates Swim|work=The New York Times }}</ref><ref name="timesmachine.nytimes.com">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/08/28/96716312.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602172522/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/08/28/96716312.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 2, 2023|title=SPITZ, U.S., GAINS 4TH GOLD MEDAL; 15-Year-Old Swimmer Wins 1,500 at Tel Aviv|work=The New York Times }}</ref>

He returned to Israel in 1969 following the Mexico Olympics to again compete, at the [[1969 Maccabiah Games]], where he won six gold medals and was again named outstanding athlete of the Games.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Slater |first1=Elinor |last2=Slater |first2=Robert |year=1996 |title=Great Jewish Men |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T91sokr_nJYC |location=Middle Village, N.Y. |publisher=J. David |isbn=978-0-8246-0381-6 |oclc=32201895}}</ref><ref name="JVL-Spitz-bio"/><ref name="The New York Times"/><ref name="timesmachine.nytimes.com"/>

In 1985, Spitz lit the torch to open the [[1985 Maccabiah Games]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Jews in Sports: The Maccabiah Games |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Maccabiah.html |publisher=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=20 January 2023}}</ref>

In 2005, he was a member of the U.S. delegation at the [[2005 Maccabiah Games]]. He spoke at the JCC Maccabiah Games Opening Ceremonies, which was held in Richmond, Virginia. The Weinstein JCC in Richmond was one of the Host JCC's for the 2005 games, with over 1,000 teenagers participating in various sports, including swimming.