Arne Borg

Claes Arne Borg, born on 18 August 1901 and died on 7 November 1987 in Vallentuna, was a Swedish swimmer who dominated long distance freestyle in the 1920s. He broke thirty-two world records and won five Olympic medals during that decade, and in 1926 he shared the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal with Edvin Wide. At the 1927 European Championships he set a world record of 19 minutes 07.2 seconds for the 1500 metres that stood for nearly eleven years. Beyond swimming he won a European silver medal in water polo in 1926, and his twin brother Ake was also an Olympic swimming medallist. After his racing career he turned professional and toured with aquatic shows, then worked as a swimming coach and ran a tobacco shop in Stockholm, remaining very popular with Swedish swimming fans. His daughter Inga Borg was a book writer for children.