Johnny Weissmuller was born in Freidorf, Hungary, and his family emigrated to Pennsylvania when he was a young boy. They moved to Chicago when he was 14 years old, and it was there that his Olympic swimming career came to fruition. In 1919, Weissmuller joined the Illinois Athletic Club and attended his first competition in 1921 at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) outdoor championship. Weissmuller went on to set numerous world records in national championship competitions over the next two years.

During the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, Weissmuller captured the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle and 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Weissmuller set the world record in the 400 free with a time of 5:04.2, and his time of :59.0 in the 100 free set an Olympic record.

In the three years between the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games, Weissmuller went on to win 15 more national titles. At the Amsterdam Games in 1928, Weissmuller defended his gold medal performance in the 100 free and was also part of the 4x200 free relay gold medal team for the second consecutive Olympic Games. In addition to his five Olympic gold medals in swimming, Weissmuller also claimed a bronze medal as part of the U.S. men’s water polo team at the 1924 Games.

Weissmuller set 28 world records and is considered one of the greatest swimmers of all time. His 1927 world record for the 100 free was unbeaten for 17 years, a remarkable length of time during a period of rapid development in the sport. Weissmuller broke a total of 51 world records and won 52 U.S. National Championships during his career.

Invited for a screen test for the role of Tarzan, Weissmuller was chosen over 150 other applicants and went on to become the most famous screen Tarzan of all, playing the role in 12 movies between 1932 and 1948. He is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1965) and U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (1983).