Alexander Baumann, (born April 21, 1964) is a Canadian sports administrator and former competitive swimmer who won two gold medals and set two world records at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 2007, he was regarded by the national broadcaster as "the greatest swimmer in Canadian history", as the twin Olympic gold medals were Canada's first in swimming since 1912.
Since he retired from competitive swimming, he has worked as an administrator in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
In May 2021, Baumann was appointed Chief Executive of Swimming Australia. At the end of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, Baumann subsequently resigned the position of CEO in August 2021, citing health reasons.
Early years
Born in Prague (former Czechoslovakia), Baumann was raised in Canada after his family moved there in 1969 following the Prague Spring. The family settled in Sudbury, Ontario, where, at the age of nine, Baumann became involved in competitive swimming, training at Laurentian University.
Olympic career
By the time he was seventeen, Baumann owned 38 Canadian swimming records and the world record in the 200-metre individual medley. He accepted a swimming scholarship and entered Indiana University to train under its legendary coach James "Doc" Counsilman; however with chronic pain in his shoulder, he made the decision to return to Sudbury to continue physical therapy and training under the direction of his long-time coach, Dr. Jeno Tihanyi. Forced to sit out the 1982 World Aquatic Championships in Ecuador due to his injury, Baumann's training progressed enough that he was able to win gold in both 200 and 400-metre individual medley events at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, lowering his world record in the 200-metre event to 2:02.25 in the process. It was here that he met his future wife Australian swimmer Tracey Taggart. He also won the 400-metre individual medley event at the 1983 World University Games.
Prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Baumann's father died of complications from diabetes and his brother, Roman, died by suicide. Baumann persevered through these tragedies, as well as his lingering tendinitis and shoulder injuries, to enter the Olympics as one of Canada's best Olympic hopes.
At the 1984 Olympics, Baumann was selected as Canada's flagbearer for the opening ceremonies. He won gold medals in the 400-metre individual medley, setting a world record time of 4:17.41, and the 200-metre race, lowering the world mark to 2:01.42. The 400-metre gold was Canada's first in swimming since 1912.
Baumann continued his swimming career with three gold medals at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in the two individual medley events, and swimming anchor on Canada's 4 × 100 m medley relay team. However, later that year, he won a silver and a bronze at the 1986 World Aquatics Championships in Madrid, Spain losing to a 19-year-old Hungarian swimmer, Tamás Darnyi.
Baumann shared a close bond with his coach of 14 years, Dr. Jeno Tihanyi. After the 1984 Olympics, the two authored a book titled Swimming with Alex Baumann: A Program for Competitive and Recreational Swimmers.
Sports administration
Subsequent to the 1987 Pacific Championships in Australia, Baumann retired from competitive swimming, initially working with Canadian broadcaster CBC for the 1988 Olympics, and also returning to Sudbury as a coach until 1991. Some speculated that Baumann was unable to find a coaching position due to his outspokenness. He criticized the Canadian Olympic Committee for dismissing Don Talbot and replacing him with Dave Johnson, as it was widely alleged that Talbot was fired for refusing to put the daughter of a Committee member on the national team. Baumann also criticized Swimming Canada for its subpar performances at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990.
1996-2006: In Queensland Australia
Baumann moved to Australia to enter graduate studies at the University of Queensland before becoming manager of sport programs with the Queensland Academy of Sport between 1996 and 1997. He then held various positions with the Queensland Government before becoming CEO of Queensland Swimming in 1999.