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Johnny Weissmuller
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Johnny Weissmuller was the winner of the 100m freestyle in 1924 and 1928 and a member of the winning 4x200m relay team in both years. He ... won a bronze medal in the 1924 water polo competition at the Olympics. Weissmuller set 28 world records and such was his margin of superiority over his contemporaries that many authorities still rate him ahead of Mark Spitz as the greatest swimmer of all time. Because of the limited number of events available to Weissmuller, his Olympic record cannot be fairly compared with that of Spitz but the longevity of his records is a testament to his greatness. His 1927 world record for the 100 yard freestyle was unbeaten for 17 years, a remarkable length of time during a period of rapid development in the sport. Much of his success was due to his revolutionary high-riding stroke, flutter kick and head-turning breathing.
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Johnny Weissmuller (June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American swimmer and actor who was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. After his swimming career, he became the sixth actor to portray Tarzan in films, a role he played in twelve motion pictures. Dozens of other actors ... played Tarzan, but Weissmuller was by far the best known. His character's distinctive, ululating Tarzan yell is still often used in films.
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The son of Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller has launched a lawsuit to gain possession of the loincloth worn by his father in the role that made him a star. The skimpy item of clothing was donated to Florida's Swimming Hall of Fame in the 1960s, together with the five Olympic gold medals that Weissmuller won as an athlete
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Born in Freidorf, Austro-Hungary on June 2, 1904 (he often claimed to have been born in Windber, Pennsylvania), Johnny Weissmuller emigrated with his parents to the U.S. as an infant. The family eventually wound up in Pennsylvania, where Peter Weissmuller worked as coal miner. The family moved again to Chicago; a sickly youth, Johnny Weissmuller took up swimming in Lake Michigan to build strength. By the time he entered the University of Chicago in 1922, the 6'3" young man had become an excellent swimmer, ultimately leading him to the Olympic Games in 1924 and 1928. He won five gold medals and set numerous world records.
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Beasts roar, danger abounds and Johnny Weissmuller swoops into the last 6 of his 12 adventures as film's definitive Tarzan. The vine swinger provides World War II heroics in Tarzan Triumphs and Tarzan's Desert Mystery. Next, he welcomes Jane (Brenda Joyce) home and champions a secluded female tribe in Tarzan and the Amazons. A deadly cult proves no match for the jungle lord in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman. And the Ape Man calls in elephants to deal with poachers in Tarzan and the Huntress and rescues a pearl-diving community in Tarzan and the Mermaids. What came next?
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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.
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Johnny Weissmuller