Arne Borg

Swimmer

• Born: August 18, 1901
• Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
• Died: November 7, 1987
• Place of death: Vallentuna, Stockholm, Sweden

Sport: Swimming

Early Life

Claes Arne Borg was born August 18, 1901, in Stockholm, Sweden, the twin brother of Claes ke Borg. As youths, the Borg siblings were both good athletes and took to the water like fish. In a country obsessed with sports—Sweden, with nine million citizens, ranks seventh in medals collected at Winter and Summer Olympic Games—the Borg brothers were especially competitive. Inspired by the 1912 Olympics held in Stockholm, they joined the Stockholms Kappsimningsklubb (the Stockholm Swimming Club), which competed in swimming events and in water polo. Though the brothers were just minutes apart in age and identical in size, Arne proved to be a slightly better athlete than his brother.

The Road to Excellence

Between 1919 and 1929, Arne captured thirty Swedish swimming championships, including nine in the 500-meter freestyle, his best event. As one of his country’s best long-distance swimmers, the nineteen-year-old Arne qualified for the 1920 Olympics. At the VIIth Olympiad, in Antwerp, Belgium, Arne competed in the 400-meter freestyle, the 1,500-meter freestyle, and the 4 200-meter freestyle relay. He was unfortunate enough to face a strong American contingent led by Duke Kahanamoku, and the best Arne could finish was fourth in each event.

After the Olympics Arne trained harder than ever and continued to rack up national championships. Wearing a body-hugging swimsuit designed by Scot Alexander MacRae—called Speedo—he dramatically improved his times despite an erratic swimming style.

In 1922, Arne broke the world record in the 400-meter freestyle, swimming the distance in 5 minutes 11.8 seconds (5:11.8). After swimming-great Johnny Weissmuller, who became famous as Tarzan in the movies, reclaimed the record, Arne lowered the time again to 4:50.3, a mark that stood until 1931. In the 800-meter freestyle, Arne broke Australian Andrew “Boy” Charlton’s world record by more than five seconds in 1924. Furthermore, in 1923, in the 1,500-meter freestyle, Arne broke the 1912 world record of 22 minutes flat, swimming the distance in 21:35.3. In all, Arne set more than thirty world records in swimming during the 1920’s. By 1924, he was ready to shine on the world stage at the Olympics again.

The Emerging Champion

At the 1924 Paris Olympics, Arne was in peak shape and prepared to compete in four swimming events—the 100-, 400-, and 1,500-meter freestyle and the 4 200-meter freestyle relay—and water polo. Once again, however, the field of swimmers was world-class, featuring Australian Charlton and Americans Weissmuller and the Kahanamoku brothers, Duke and Samuel. In the 100 meters, Weissmuller swam to victory, while Arne finished fourth. Weissmuller also took gold in the 400-meter freestyle, 1.4 seconds ahead of Arne, who claimed the silver medal. In the 1,500 meters, Charlton finished almost 35 seconds ahead of Arne, who had to be content with his second silver medal. Weissmuller earned his third gold medal anchoring the American 4 200-meter relay ream. The Swedes, with both Arne and his twin ke, captured bronze.

Not satisfied with his medal harvest, since none of them was gold, Arne vowed to practice harder than ever in preparation for the 1928 Olympics. Tuning up for Amsterdam, Arne participated in the newly instituted European Swimming Championships in 1926, competing in his usual four swimming events and in water polo. In the 100-meter freestyle, he finished second, an eyelash behind István Bárány of Hungary. Arne redeemed himself with victories in the 400-meter and 1,500-meter races, won a bronze medal with the 4 200-meter relay team, and helped the water polo team win the silver medal. For his feats in 1926, Arne shared the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal (the Swedish athlete of the year award) with Edvin Wide, Sweden’s leading distance runner.

Continuing the Story

At the 1927 European Swimming Championships, Arne gained revenge in the 100-meter freestyle, beating Bárány by more than 3 seconds. He also repeated as champion in the 400-meter freestyle and helped Sweden’s 4 200-meter relay team to the bronze medal. Though he had lost several teeth during a brutal water polo match against France, Arne again won the 1,500-meter freestyle gold medal, breaking the world record. Arne’s time of 19:07.2 for the distance was a record that stood for a dozen years.

By the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, Arne was one of the oldest swimmers in competition, and, hoping to win an elusive gold medal, he confined himself to just two events. In the 400-meter freestyle, he finished third. However, in the 1,500-meter freestyle, he took first place by more than 10 seconds, more than half a minute ahead of American Buster Crabbe, who, like fellow swimmer Weissmuller, later became a movie star.

Amsterdam proved to be Arne’s last gasp as a competitive swimmer. Shortly after the 1928 Olympics, at twenty-seven years old, he was disqualified as an amateur because officials determined he had accepted excessive expenses from swimsuit manufacturers to compete in races.

In retirement, Arne became a swimming instructor and assisted generations of Swedes in the water for many years. He continued to swim and train late in life before dying at the age of eighty-six in 1987; he had outlived his twin brother and fellow competitor, ke, by fourteen years.

Summary

A three-time Olympian who won five medals at the Games, Arne Borg dominated distance swimming during the 1920’s. He won five individual European Swimming Championships; won forty individual titles in Sweden, Australia, and the United States; and set numerous world records. The Swedish athlete of the year in 1926, Arne was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966.

Bibliography

Bash, Kevin, and Brigitte Jouxtel. The Norconian Resort. Mount Pleasant, S.C.: Arcadia, 2007.

Berry, Kevin. “The Manly Triumph of 1924.” Journal of Olympic History 8, no. 2 (May, 2000): 49-51.

Colwin, Cecil. Breakthrough Swimming. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, 2002.

Conner, Floyd. The Olympics’ Most Wanted: The Top Ten Book of the Olympics’ Gold Medal Gaffes, Improbable Triumphs and Other Oddities. Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, 2002.