Even when he was winning Olympic gold medals for Canada, Alex Baumann didn't walk on water, he just swam on it.
There will be no turning that water into wine now that he's a senior administrator for amateur sport in this country, either.
But like he did when he wore the Maple Leaf with such distinction, Baumann made it clear yesterday that he won't settle for uniform mediocrity.
"There's no egalitarianism in high-performance sports," Baumann said bluntly after being named executive director of Canada's Road to Excellence program.
"Ultimately, it's not going to please everyone, but we're all about success at the Olympic Games."
As Canadian Olympic Committee head honcho Chris Rudge said at yesterday's announcement at the University of Toronto, "There is no ambiguity," in Baumann's objectives.
However long it takes and whatever means are required to get there, the 42-year-old is thinking podium not participation.
NO PARTICIPATION RIBBON
There might still be a place for athletes with watered down goals of reaching the top 20. But the competitors with more ambition, talent and potential will get the most support.
To say Baumann was disgusted with the direction amateur sport was going here in the 10 years he was an accomplished sports leader in Australia is an understatement.
It hurt that the legacy left by fellow swimmers Victor Davis, and later Mark Tewksbury, had been allowed to slide.
It hurt too that the dynamic athlete who emerged from Sudbury to take on the world was all but blackballed in the country he gave his heart to as an athlete.
"There's no doubt I was frustrated a number of times, that's well documented," said Baumann, a two-time gold medallist at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
"I needed to be confident the structure was in place (before considering a COC position.) There was no point bringing someone over here if you can't actually make an impact.
"I think if you adopt a consensus approach, you get a watered-down decision."
The gospel that hooked him was the Road To Excellence Business Plan authored by Dr. Roger Jackson. There may be a bookshelf full of past blueprints to improve Canadian sport, but with the promise of some power and autonomy, Baumann saw an opportunity.
The man that made sure the hook stayed on was Rudge, who admits the aftermath of the 2004 Athens Olympics was an eye opener. While the COC was able to rationalize the dismal 12 medal total, Canadians weren't so forgiving.
"There was a strong public outcry," Rudge said. "The public wants results. I was pleased to hear that."
Rudge was pleased because he knew it might provide leverage to enact change. In his search for a leader, there was only one serious candidate, a man with a past, a present and he is convinced, a strong future.
"What we got was the cache of Alex Baumann, a guy how has been there and done it and knows what it takes," Rudge said. "That's profound."
Baumann's immediate goal is to get his wife Tracy and two children, Ashton and Tabitha, settled in Ottawa and introduced to snow before January when he begins his new job.
While it may be too late to have a serious impact for the 2008 Games in Beijing, London 2012 already has a big bull's-eye.
"There's no doubt I am under pressure," Baumann said in the Aussie accent he has acquired. "I don't have any illusions.
"Even in Australia, I saw that athletes were substituting hard work for going to see a psychologist or bio-mechanic.
"I think what I would tell all athletes is we're going to be here to help you as much as possible, but ultimately you are going to have to do it yourself."
Just like Baumann did before many of them were born.
