Alex Baumanm, seen here in this 1999 file photo, is bringing the lessons he learned as a sports administrator in Australia back to Canada. (Col Townsend/Associated Press)
NEWSMAKER
Alex Baumann
Swimming icon leads Canada down the road to excellence
By Dan Tavares, with files from Tom Harrington CBC Sports
There's no mistaking what Canada means to Alex Baumann.
Tattooed on Baumann's chest, just to the left of his heart, is a red maple leaf.
It's an insignia he wore with pride during his glory days more two decades ago. Back then, the 20-year-old Baumann, along with teammate Victor Davis, were the poster boys for a Canadian swim squad that routinely hauled in Olympic medals and set world records.
But the intervening years have been less than kind to Canadian Summer Olympic aspirations. And now Baumann, who's spent the last 15 years building Australia into a sports powerhouse, is being asked back to help restore Canadian Olympic pride.
"It's not going to be easy, but he's credible," said Mike Thierry, the publisher of Canadian swimming magazine Swim News, when asked about the appointment.
Australian success story
"He has both a Canadian success story, and he knows the Australian success story."
Since 2002, Baumann has headed up Australia's Queensland Academy of Sport. He held key posts in Australia's renowned swimming program before that.
Under Baumann's leadership, the land Down Under became the world's top swimming nation and is currently a rising power in a number of sports, such as track and field and basketball.
"We need somebody who has that sort of competitive-aggressiveness mentality behind him," said emerging Canadian swim star Brent Hayden.
"And also somebody who actually has that sport background to sort of lead us on the road."
Fills leadership void
CBC swimming analyst Byron MacDonald agrees with Hayden, arguing that Baumann's hiring is a big deal for the Canadian Olympic Committee.
"Alex is a big name, but more importantly it shows a seriousness of purpose," said MacDonald.
"[Baumann's appointment shows] that the Olympics are important and we're going to marshall all the resources we possibly can, and one of those resources is leadership."
MacDonald and many other amateur sports pundits say a lack of leadership has been largely to blame for the country's athletic malaise. While moves to address that didn't start with Baumann's hiring, the pace of change has been glacial.
After stumbling to 19th in the medals at the 2004 Athens Summer Games – one of the Canada's worst performances ever – it was only this year that the COC established the "Road To Excellence" Program.
The plan – based on the highly-successful "Own the Podium" program which netted Canadians 24 medals at the Torino Winter Olympics – aims to put Canada among the top 16 nations at the Beijing Games, less than two years from now.
To accomplish that modest goal, more money and technical support has been put in place for Canadian athletes.
And sitting atop this infrastructure is Baumann.
"I look forward to the challenge," said Baumann, who was Canada's flag-bearer for the 1984 opening ceremonies.
"I don't have any illusions. I think it will be a difficult job and it will take time to implement a sustainable system that will produce long-term results."
'No egalitarianism in high-performance sports'
Baumann believes his biggest obstacle is funding.
Baumann leads the Canadian contingent during the 1984 Olympic Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles. (Gary Hershorn/Canadian Press)
"There needs to be adequate resources to achieve quality outcomes," said Baumann in an interview with CBC. "I don't think we're there yet. I think there's a long way to go."
He also believes the COC must do a better job focusing its limited resources on sports programs that produce results.
"There's no egalitarianism in high-performance sports" said Baumann, who in the past has slammed the COC for making excuses for poor performances.
"We're not going to please everybody."
Baumann also suggested that means some athletes, in less successful programs, may lose some of their funding.
"That's the philosophy in Australia," he said.
"If you're tying to support everybody, you're spreading resources out too thinly and not making an impact."
QUICK FACTS
- Birthdate: April 21, 1964 in Prague, Czechoslovakia
- Hometown: Sudbury, Ont., where Baumann moved with his family in 1973
- Age began competitive swimming: 9
- Olympic gold medals: 2 (one each in the 200m and 400m individual medley at the 1984 Los Angeles Games)
- World records set at 1984 Games: 2 (in the 200 and 400 medley)
- Years Canada went without a gold medal in men's swimming before 1984: 72
- Number of Olympic swimming champions Canada has produced since 1984: 1 (Mark Tewksbury in the 1992 100m backstroke)
- National championships won: 34
- National records set: 32
- Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year awards: 1 (in 1984)
- Times chosen as Canada's flag bearer: 3 (1982 Commonwealth Games, 1983 World University Games, 1984 Olympic Games)
- Literary career: Wrote Swimming with Alex Baumann: A Program for Competitive and Recreational Swimmers in 1984 with longtime coach Dr. Jeno Tihanyi
- Executive career: Named CEO of Queensland (Australia) Swimming in 1999; became executive directory of Queensland Academy of Sport in 2002; named executive director of the Canadian Olympic Committee's Road to Excellence program in September 2006
CBC stories
- Alex Baumann returns to Canada
- Sept. 27, 2006
Your View
Will Alex Baumann make a difference?
It's fantastic!!! It's about time we put the money and energy into developing role models for our young people
- Brenda Ford
He is the big part of Australian "miracle" improvement in all sports and if we will let him do something like that in Canada...
- Peter Maseja
The return of the Golden Boy!!! Youppi!!!
- Anouk, Québec
Alex is to Canadian swimming, what Wayne Gretzky is to Canadian hockey.
- Darren McCabe
