Alexander Baumann, OC OOnt (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 CBC, the national broadcaster, as "the greatest swimmer in Canadian history",[1] as the twin Olympic gold medals were Canada's first in swimming since 1912.

[2] At the end of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, Baumann subsequently resigned the position of CEO in August 2021, citing health reasons.

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.

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.

In 2004, after a dismal showing by Canada at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, in which they failed to medal and their best finish was sixth place, head coach Dave Johnson was fired.

Several commentators panned Baumann as hypocritical as he was publicly critical of the Canadian swim program for several years from 2000 to 2004, right up to the Athens Olympics [according to whom?].

On 27 September 2006, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced that Baumann was hired to take over Canada's Road to Excellence initiative beginning in January 2007.

In the 2012 London Olympic Games with the initiation of its "Own the Podium" programme, Canada finished 13th in total medals, thus improving on its performance in Beijing while falling somewhat short of its self-declared goal of 12th position.

[12] On 9 August 2021 Baumann announced his resignation as the CEO of Swimming Australia after only 3 months of tenure, citing health concerns and wanting to spend more time with his family.

[13] Baumann was named Honorary Colonel of 412 VIP Transport Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force based in Ottawa in June 2011.

He continued where he left off, beating the world record in the 200 metre individual medley in the 45-49 age group category by more than 3.3 seconds with a time of 2:12.01.