Sports Legends- Johnny Weissmuller

(Windber, 1904 - Acapulco, 1984) Hungarian-born American film actor and swimming champion, known in the film world for his portrayals of the popular Edgar Rice Borroughs character, Tarzan.

Son of Polish immigrants who settled in the mining town of Winber (Pennsylvania), little John had a difficult childhood, marked by his first move to Chicago - where the family had settled to escape the harsh life of the mine- , and the subsequent death of his father, a victim of tuberculosis. It was in Lake Michigan in this city that he learned to swim; At age fourteen, he entered the local YMCA team and was coached by Bill Bachrach, who had him perfect the crowl stroke that kept him undefeated for ten years (six leg kicks for every two arm strokes, in perfect synchronization).

In 1922 he broke the world record for the 300-meter freestyle and did the 100-meter freestyle in 58,6 seconds, becoming the first man to swim that distance in less than a minute. Two years later, at the Paris Olympics, he had improved this mark by 1,2 seconds, a record that seemed impossible to achieve at the time; In addition, he broke the records of the 400 meters (5: 04.2.) and the 4 × 200 free relay (9: 53.4.), and finally won the bronze medal ex aequo with the selection of water American pole. In 1928 she participated in the Amsterdam Olympics, where she won two more golds, in the 100 meter and 4 × 200 free relay; however, she was not allowed to compete in the 1932 Olympics because she had been a swimsuit model.

His magnificent figure led to him being hired by Metro Goldwyn Mayer to play the role of Tarzan of the Apes, the famous fictional character created by Edgar Rice Borroughs. Since his debut in 1931, he participated in some twenty-one films, always hired by the same studios; He also worked, from 1948, for American television in numerous chapters of the Jungle Jim series. In 1973 he suffered a heart attack that forced him to be hospitalized and from which he would not recover, since two years later he had to be admitted again; He then made the decision to settle in the Mexican city of Acapulco, where he stayed until his death.