When you think Jonny Weissmuller, you immediately associate his name with Tarzan. But before he became an actor famous for his jungle howls, he was an exceptional swimmer who won five gold medals and a bronze at the Olympic Games in Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928.
Weissmuller also claimed an epic record in 1922 when he became the first human being to swim the 100m event in under a minute.
On July 8, 1922, in Alameda (California), Weissmuller, at the age of 18, stopped the stopwatch at an astonishing time of 58.6 seconds, writing his name in the book of great sporting milestones.
With his time, Weissmuller beat the previous world record (1:00.4) held by Hawaii's Duke Kahanamoku, winner of five Olympic medals between 1912 and 1924.
Never before had anyone swum the ultimate swimming distance so fast. Today, his record may not seem so spectacular. But, a century ago, it was brilliant.
Now, Brazil's Cesar Cielo, with a time of 46.91 seconds in the 50m pool, and Australia's Kyle Chalmers, with his 44.84 in the 25m (Kazan in 2021), are the world record holders.
From Alameda in 1922 to Kazan in 2021, Weissmuller's record was reduced by 14 seconds.
Training, nutrition, the material used in swimwear and the technical elements have all played a part in a spectacular reduction of a record that Weissmuller broke again 1924, this time setting a time of 57.4 seconds.
Tarzan, the beginning of the end
Born in Szabadfalu, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1904 and now Timisoara (Romania), he emigrated with his parents to the United States when he was seven months old.
As a young boy, he learned to swim on the beaches of Lake Michigan, where he began a long relationship with the water.
His downward spiral oddly enough came when he became most famous.
Weissmuller signed a seven-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that to play the lead in hit film Tarzan of the Apes.
The film's success was stratospheric, so much so that his studio would not allow him to play any character other than Tarzan.
However, that scream marked the end of his days. When his contract at Metro ended, he tried to prove that he had more acting skills than just swinging on vines with Jane and Cheetah the monkey.
Unfortunately, he didn't succeed. He was trapped in his character and between 1948 and 1954 he starred in a series called Jungle Jim.