The First Record Breakers 4/7: A Doctor Told a Sick Boy to Swim. He Became the First to Break One Minute (1922)

Tales of Life: Ordinary People, Extraordinary True Stories · Nov 2, 2026 · 5m

The First Record Breakers, Episode 4 of 7. In 1922 nobody had ever swum 100 metres freestyle in under a minute. The great Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii had come within half a second. Then an 18-year-old from Chicago did it: Johnny Weissmuller, a boy who had been sick with polio and was told by his doctor to take up swimming. On 9 July 1922 he swam 58.6 seconds. He went on to win five Olympic gold medals, set 67 world records and never lose a race, before he became Hollywood's Tarzan. The true story of the first swimmer under one minute: who, when, why and how.

Chapters:

(00:00) The one-minute…