Swedish Connection

Bengt Baron (right) and Par Arvidsson , 1980

Baron a Swede who won the 100 m backstroke at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and a bronze in the 4×100 m freestyle relay in Los Angeles four years later. From 1979 to 1985 he won 33 Swedish titles. Like Arvidsson, he went to Cal to train with Nort Thorton and that is when I met him.

My senior year of high-school I swam with the Bears and, though Baron graduated a year or two before my time, he occasionally showed up for morning practise and we would huddle in the equipment shed dreading the shock of the outdoor pool at 6AM. Like most swimmers, he is tall - maybe 6'4'' and thin (Arvidsson, by contrast, a muscle-man so it takes all types).  Baron's arms hyper-extended at the elbow-joint which allowed him a better "grip" on the water. He was a formidable competitor.

After swimming Baron got an MBA from Berkeley in '88  then went to McKinsey & Co; from there, he joined a bunch of consumer companies including Coca-Cola and Kodak. In 2001, he was named CEO and President of Absolut Vodka.  Baron lived up to, and surpassed, his early promise. Neat guy.