He won all the same championships in 1923, and also set a world record in the 150-yard backstroke. His new record was 6.8 seconds faster than the old one. On July 9, 1922, he became the first person ever to swim 100 meters in less than a minute, completing the distance in 58.6 seconds. He also broke the 5-minute barrier in the 440-yard freestyle swim.
Two-Time Olympian
Weissmuller swam in the 1924 Olympics in Paris, and won gold medals in the 100- and 400-meter freestyle events. He set a world record of 5:04.2 in the 400, and his time of 59.0 in the 100 was an Olympic record. At the same Games, he was a member of the gold-medal-winning 4-200 freestyle relay team as well as the bronze-medal-winning U.S. water polo team. In the same year, he beat his own world-record 100-meter time, lowering the record to 57.4 seconds. This time wasn't beaten until 1944.
In 1925, 1926, and 1927, he won 15 more national titles. He held the record for the 100-yard freestyle, with a time of 51.0 seconds, for the next 17 years, and his record for the 200-meter freestyle stood for seven years.
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