Tarzan at the Olympics: Johnny Weissmuller won 3 gold medals at the 1924 Paris Games

Before there was Michael Phelps or Mark Spitz winning Olympic gold medals for the United States — there was Tarzan.

Yes Tarzan, the fictional literary and film character who was raised by apes in the African jungle.

This of course was Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan in the films but was also a swimming superstar 100 years ago. He won three gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics: the 100-meter freestyle, the 400 free, and the 4x200 relay. Weissmuller also won bronze in water polo in an Olympics that featured many stars including Paavo Nurmi.

Weissmuller defeated Duke Kahanamoku in the 100 final after the famous Hawaiian — often called the “father of surfing” — had won gold in 1912 in Stockholm and in 1920 in Antwerp. The 1916 Olympics were set for Berlin but canceled because of World War I.