Adding golden touch to team
SWIMMING Australia has bolstered its performance program ahead of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with the appointment of Olympic gold medallist Alex Baumann to the new role of chief strategist, high performance.
Baumann, a Canadian medley star who won gold at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in 1982 and Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, brings plenty of experience to the role, having been chief executive of High Performance Sport New Zealand since 2012 and former CEO of Canada’s high performance sport program.
And he is no stranger to the Australian sporting landscape, having served as executive director of the Queensland Academy of Sport from 2002-2006.
Baumann, who also has family on the Gold Coast, will work closely with Australian head coach Jacco Verhaeren as the Dolphins move towards next April’s Commonwealth Games, and then the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where Swimming Australia wants to return to the world’s top swimming nation.
“I am excited to be moving back to Australia and to be taking on the role with Swimming Australia as chief strategist, high performance,” Baumann said.
“Swimming in Australia has a long history of success and I am looking forward to working with a great team that is performance-driven, athlete-focused and coach-led.
“There will no doubt be challenges ahead as we compete on the world stage, but I am passionate about the sport and am looking forward to driving the high performance strategy forward without compromise to meet these challenges head on.
“Australia has always had great potential as a swimming nation and we will continue to explore ways to build upon this winning culture.”
Verhaeren said he was looking forward to working with Baumann, who begins his new role on January 31.
“I know Alex is very passionate about swimming and of course has great insight into what it takes to lead an elite sporting system and I am looking forward to working closely with him on the road to Tokyo 2020,” Verhaeren said.
Swimming Australia president John Bertrand said Baumann’s appointment would underpin Swimming Australia’s vision to take the organisation to the next level.
“As part of our push for continuous improvement, Alex will bring a fresh perspective to the organisation and challenge our existing way of thinking,” Bertrand said.