Spitz Will Launch Comeback April 13 in Japan

Mark Spitz will compete for the first time since 1972 on April 13 in Gifu, Japan.

Spitz, 40, will race only against German Olympian Michael Gross in the 50-meter butterfly for an undetermined cash prize. Spitz, who won seven medals in the 1972 Olympic Games, has been training at UCLA with Coach Ron Ballatore since last year in an effort to make the 1992 U.S. Olympic team in the 100-meter butterfly. His race with Gross will be televised on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, according to Spitz’s business manager and father-in-law, Herman Weiner.