What are the top Olympic athletes from the ’70s doing now?

From record-breaking swimming champions to history-making gymnasts, the 1970s produced some of the most iconic Olympic athletes in living memory. They became global superstars amid the growing tension of the Cold War era, and battled with unprecedented media attention and political drama.

Join HELLO! as we discover what happened to the most famous ’70s Olympians after the stadium lights dimmed, and learn how their lives evolved long after their gold medal moments.

Mark Spitz

Mark Spitz was a nine-time Olympic champion swimmer who rose to fame in 1972 after his incredible success at the Munich Olympic Games. At the event, he won seven gold medals and set several world records, making him the most successful athlete at those Games.

The American retired right after Munich at just 22 years old, and focused on capitalizing off of his Olympic success. He won small parts in several projects like Emergency! and Challenge of a Lifetime, and worked as a broadcaster.

“I did very well, thank you very much,” he told the Herald Tribune. “I would say I was a pioneer. There wasn’t anyone who’d gone to the Olympics before me who capitalized the same way on opportunity.”

“It depends on timing, it depends on hype, it depends on the economy, and most importantly, it depends on looks.”

He attempted a comeback to the sport in 1992 at age 41 when he was offered $1 million by filmmaker Bud Greenspan if he qualified for that year’s Olympics. Unfortunately, Mark was two seconds off qualifying time.

He started his own real estate company and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Suzy Weiner, and his sons Matthew and Justin.

Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn became America’s hero in 1976 when she won gold in the decathlon event at the Montreal Olympics and set a new world record, snatching the prize away from the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

Caitlyn retired after the Olympics, as she wanted to focus on other career opportunities. “I have never run since the last day of the Games,” she said in an interview.

“I knew going in that it would be the last time I would compete. On July 30, 1976, it would be all over – win, lose or draw. It was a big card to play, and it was hard, because it was sad. Here I was at the peak of my career. I beat the rest of the world, sang my greatest song, and will never sing again.”

After retiring from the sport, Caitlyn’s star power only grew, and she gained several sponsorship deals with brands like Wheaties. She also did a stint as a race car driver in the ’80s and appeared in several films and TV projects.

Caitlyn was first married to Chrystie Crownover from 1972 to 1981, then later to Linda Thompson from 1981 to 1986, and to Kris Jenner from 1991 to 2015. She shares kids Brandon and Brody with Linda, and Kendall and Kylie with Kris.

She famously appeared on the hit reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians between 2007 and 2017, which focused on the lives of Kendall and Kylie, and his stepchildren, Kim, Kourtney, Khloé and Rob Kardashian. Caitlyn came out as a transgender woman in 2015, attracting worldwide attention. She has shared her support for Donald Trump in the years since. 

Nadia Comaneci

The Romanian star remains one of history’s most successful gymnasts and was the first in her sport to earn a perfect 10 at the Olympics. 

She competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympics at age 14, where she won three gold medals, and followed it up with two golds at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

She officially retired from the sport in 1984, in a move that restricted her freedom in then-Communist Romania. “Life took on a new bleakness. I was cut off from making the small amount of extra money that had really made a difference in my family’s life,” she wrote in her memoir.

“It was also insulting that a normal person in Romania had the chance to travel, whereas I could not… When my gymnastics career was over, there was no longer any need to keep me happy. I was to do as I was instructed, just as I’d done my entire life.”

She defected from the Soviet Union in 1989 and lived in Montreal for several years. 

Nadia married American gymnast Bart Conner in 1996, and together the pair own a gymnastics academy, a production company, and sports equipment shops. She is still heavily involved in gymnastics and Olympic committees today.

Teófilo Stevenson

The Cuban boxer remains one of only three boxers to have won three gold medals in Olympic history. He competed in the 1972 Munich Games, the 1976 Montreal Games, and the 1980 Moscow Games, and won gold at all three events.

He was forced to boycott the 1984 Los Angeles Games as Cuba was allied with the Soviet Union, which boycotted the event in retaliation for the US sitting out of the Moscow Games.

Teófilo retired in 1988 and worked as a boxing trainer for many years at the National Institute for Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation in Cuba. 

He was also the vice president of the Cuban Boxing Federation until he passed away in 2012 at age 60 from a heart attack. He was survived by his two children and remains a Cuban hero thanks to his dedication to the people.

Nelli Kim

Nelli was another gymnastics star who hailed from the Soviet Union, and was engaged in a long-standing rivalry with Nadia Comǎneci. 

She won three gold medals and a silver at the 1976 Montreal Games, and two gold medals at the 1980 Moscow Games, and became the second person in Olympic history to achieve a perfect 10 score, right after Nadia.

She retired shortly after the 1980 Olympics and has worked as a high-profile coach and judge ever since. Nelli took Belarusian citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The athlete married her fellow gymnast Vladimir Achasov in 1977, yet they went their separate ways in 1979. She then married Soviet cyclist Valery Movchan in 1981, a year after they met at the Moscow Olympics. They share a daughter, Nelli.