Toomas "Tom" Arusoo (born July 22, 1948) was a Canadian competition swimmer who swam for Canada in several international meets including the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City.

Early life

Tom Arusoo's parents were both competitive athletes in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

; his father was a national champion swimmer in long-distance freestyle, and his mother was the second-ranked tennis player in the country. They emigrated to Sweden in 1944 as refugees, where their son Toomas was born. They then emigrated to Canada, settling in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Swimming career

As a child, Arusoo started competitively swimming for the Montreal Athletic Association, specializing in the butterfly stroke. While in high school, he dated the granddaughter of American swimming coach

Matt Mann Matthew "Matt" Mann II (1884–1962) was a British-born American college swimming coach and was coach of the men's swim team in the 1952 Summer Olympics that won four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. He learnt to swim at eight ...

. After watching Arusoo swim, Mann recommended him to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

swimming coach. The university offered Arusoo a scholarship and he swam for the

Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving The Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving program has both a men's and women's team. The University of Michigan swimming program is one of the most highly respected college swimming programs in the country. The men's and women's teams, which ha ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) and

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

competition. Arusoo first swam for Canada at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, and then at the 1967 Pan American Games. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Arusoo was a member of Canada's seventh-place 4x100-metre medley relay team, swimming the butterfly leg. He also competed in the preliminary heats of the 100 and 200-metre butterfly events, but failed to advance. At his final international meet, the 1970 Commonwealth Games in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Arusoo won the gold medal in the 200-metre butterfly (2:08.97). In the 100-metre butterfly, he was part of the first-ever Canadian sweep of the podium at an international games, winning silver in 58.98 seconds and joined by gold medallist Byron MacDonald and bronze medallist

Ron Jacks Ronald Brian Jacks (born January 23, 1948) was a Canadian Olympic and international swimmer in the 1960s and 1970s. He is currently a leading coach for Canadian swimmers such as Richard Weinberger through the Pacific Coast Swimming Club. He he ...

After swimming

In 1973, Arusoo married fellow Canadian Olympian swimmer

Angela Coughlan Angela Denise Coughlan, O.Ont. (October 4, 1952 – June 14, 2009) was a Canadian competition swimmer. At the peak of her competitive swimming career from 1968 to 1971, she was the best Canadian female freestyle specialist, going undefeated in f ...

. They had three daughters before the couple divorced ten years later. Arusoo became a swimming coach at the Pointe Claire Aquatic Centre under International Swimming Hall of Fame coach George Gate, who had been the coach of the 1968 Olympic team. Arusoo also coached the Liquid Lightning Swim Club in

Lake Orion, Michigan Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of wh ...

, and the Great Lakes Aquatics Akitas (North) swim team located in

Holly, Michigan Holly is a village in north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,086 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Holly Township. It is about south of Flint and northwest of Detroit. Geography According to th ...

References

External links

* 1948 births Living people Swimmers from Stockholm Canadian male butterfly swimmers Michigan Wolverines men's swimmers Olympic swimmers for Canada Swimmers at the 1967 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games {{Canada-swimming-bio-stub

Early life

Swimming career

After swimming

See also

References

External links