János Weißmüller was born in 1904 in the Kingdom of Hungary, in the Banat town of Szabadfalu. His parents emigrated to the United States before he turned one. Then they changed his name to Peter John Weissmuller. The boy was reportedly ill. His father said in a radio interview that doctors thought he would not live to be 30.
At the urging of a doctor, he started training swimming and discovered his talent. At the age of 17, he became the American 50m freestyle champion for the first time. That year, he broke the world record in the 150 meters freestyle. He is best remembered for being the first to swim 100 meters in less than a minute, and on July 9, 1922, he broke that record as well. Weissmuller developed his swimming style during his career. He won 5 gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1924 and 1928. By the end of his career, he had broken at least 51 world records.
Johnny Weismuller was the first athlete to enter Hollywood based on athletic fame. Between 1932 and 1948, he played Tarzan in 12 films. To this day, it remains the most famous film Tarzan. He died in 1984 in Acapulco, Mexico.
