5. Mark Spitz
Instead of worrying that Michael Phelps might break his Olympic record of seven gold medals, you might be surprised to learn that Mark Spitz has been rooting for Phelps to re-energize the sport of swimming. What really gives Spitz heartburn is acid reflux.
“I probably had acid reflux the entire time I was training but didn’t know it,” says Spitz, whose record seven gold medals will last at least another four years after Phelps placed third in Monday night’s 200 freestyle final. “I had indigestion a lot and figured it was because I used to eat before and after I swam my practice or was from training indoors and breathing in chlorine. I got in the habit of thinking that if I didn’t have that burning pain, then I must not have trained hard enough.”
But after Spitz retired from competitive swimming, the heartburn continued and he knew something more serious was wrong. Spitz says his acid reflux improved dramatically after taking Nexium and years later was more than willing to help raise awareness about acid reflux disease, because he knows personally that there is actually something effective that can be done about it.