Champion swimmers: Life after Olympics

Did you know that Johnny Weissmuller, the most famous Tarzan, was an Olympic swimming champion? Weissmuller was the best known Tarzan and his distinctive ululating Tarzan yell is still used in films. Among his Tarzan films were Tarzan the Ape Man, Tarzan and His Mate, Tarzan Escapes, Tarzan Finds a Son!, Tarzan’s Secret Treasure, Tarzan’s New York Adventure, Tarzan Triumphs, Tarzan’s Desert Mystery, Tarzan and the Amazons, Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, Tarzan and the Huntress and Tarzan and the Mermaids. Before a career in showbiz beckoned, Weissmuller was one of the world’s best swimmers winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won 52 US National Championships and set 67 world records.

Weissmuller was the son of Austrian-Hungarian parents who migrated to the US when he was seven years old. Weissmuller never lost a race and retired from his amateur swimming career undefeated. When Weissmuller played his first Tarzan movie, Tarzan the Ape Man, the 6’3" Weissmuller became an overnight international sensation. Edgar Rice Burroughs, who created the character of Tarzan in his books, was pleased. The movie became a huge success. Weissmuller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood.

Another Olympic swimmer who has tried his hand at acting is Greg Louganis. Louganis is an American diver of Samoan-Swedish descent who was adopted by a Greek-American family. His Olympic medal record consists of Silver 1976 Montreal 10-meter platform; Gold 1984 Los Angeles three-meter springboard; Gold 1984 Los Angeles 10-meter platform; Gold 1988 Seoul three-meter springboard and Gold 1988 Seoul 10-meter platform. Louganis is best known for winning back-to-back Olympic titles in both the three-meter and 10-meter events.

At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, Louganis hit the diving board with his head, but still went on to win the gold medal. In 1994, Louganis announced he was gay. His announcement created a controversy because many felt he should have informed the doctors and those who used the pool of his HIV status following his injury, which caused light bleeding, in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After retiring from competitive diving, Louganis has done acting on Broadway. He also devotes his time breeding Great Danes and has written several books. He also promotes AIDS awareness in school. He also published his autobiography in 1995 entitled Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story.

Mark Spitz also tried showbiz but his career in the biz was short lived. Spitz is the only swimmer who has won seven gold medals at one Olympics and he is one of only four athletes to earn nine career gold medals. The Jewish American swimmer set the record at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Spitz’s accomplishments at Munich were marred by the Palestinian terrorism attack, known as the Munich Massacre, that claimed the lives of 11 Israeli athletes. At the age of 22, Spitz retired from swimming after the Munich Games. He tried to get into TV appearing in The Tonight Show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and The Dean Martin Show, among others, but the champion swimmer was uncomfortable with showbiz and quickly ended his foray into the business.

For most Olympic swimmers, there is life after the Games. Some have branched out to the academe to teach swimming. Others have tried TV, advertising or commercials. Alexander Popov, the freestyle sprinter who still holds the Olympic and World records for the Men’s 50-meter freestyle, became a spokesman for Omega watches. Vladimir Salnikov, nicknamed "Submarine" who in the early ’80s was the absolute ruler of the freestyle, teaches swimming. Matt Biondi, who almost equaled Mark Spitz’s Olympian record of seven golds if it were not for Suriname’s Anthony Nesty who defeated him in the 100-meter butterfly by 0.01 seconds, teaches math, American History, personal excellence and swimming. Michael Gross "The Albatross," probably the finest swimmer in the world in the 200-meter butterfly race from 1981 to 1988, became a TV commentator and helped with Berlin’s campaign to host the Olympics in the year 2000. Ian "The Thorpedo" Thorpe, known as one of the greatest middle-distance swimmers of all time, was spokesperson for Armani clothing and has his own line of designer jewelry and underwear. He once endorsed "Thorpedo" energy drink for Yakult company of Japan.

Arnee back with new LP

Arnee Hidalgo is back with a new album entitled You Got it All. The title track and carrier single is a revival of the 1986 hit by The Jets. The album is a collaboration between Arnee and her brother Jeffrey Hidalgo. It is under their own label Musiclink Record Productions. The album contains the cuts What Might Have Been, Miss You Like Crazy, Standing Right Next To Me, Not While I’m Around, Mahal Kita Walang Iba, Does This Mean Goodbye (which is an unreleased single by Jeffrey Hidalgo), Love Is ( a duet with Piolo Pascual), I Can’t Make You Love Me, Inside That I Cried, Life In the City and Kahit Minsan Lang.

Arnee won the Silver Prize and the Most Beautiful Contestant Special Award in the Voice of Asia 2002 in Kazakhstan. Her debut album Cold Summer Nights was a hit. Arnee is Candy Rap Awards Best New Artist and Meg Magazine Breakthrough Artist in 2004.