The 70’s (I)

The Arena Brand was created by sports visionary Horst Dassler, son of the Adidas founder and President of Adidas France. During the 1972 Munich Summer Games, Dassler was on the pool deck when Mark Spitz won his historic 7 gold medals. Dassler, along with the rest of the world, found himself in awe because not only was Spitz the first athlete to win 7 golds in one Olympiad, but at the same time he set 7 new world records. Knowing Spitz had just given fans a glimpse of swimming at its finest; Dassler immediately started forming plans for a swimwear company dedicated to aquatic sports. After the Games many companies sought Spitz’s endorsement, but in the end he decided to team with Dassler to create the new performance swimwear brand known today as Arena.