The Real Tarzan

The man many of us knew as Tarzan, the man who fought lions and crocodiles, and flew through the trees on vines, was just as extraordinary in real life as the character he played in the movies. In fact, he was a superstar long before he became Tarzan. It was the roaring 1920’s and the man who would become Tarzan was a swimming phenom winning 5 Gold Medals, 3 in 1924 at the Paris Olympics and 2 in 1928 at the Amsterdam Olympic Games. He was the first person to ever swim the 440-yard freestyle in under 5 minutes, won 52 U.S. National Championships, set 67 world records, and as far as we can tell was never defeated in competition. While the world over knew him only as Tarzan, his real name was Johnny Weissmuller.