Leif Arrhenius
Leif Arrhenius
Personal information
Birth nameLeif Hilding Arrhenius
Nationality Sweden and
 United States[1]
Born (1986-07-15) July 15, 1986
Provo, Utah, U.S.A.
Alma materMountain View High School Brigham Young University
Height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Weight115.5 kg (255 lb)
Sport
Country Sweden [3]
SportTrack and field / Athletics
Event(s)Discus throw and Shot put
University teamBrigham Young University Cougars
ClubSpårvägens FK[4]
Coached byAnders Arrhenius,[5]
L. Jay Silvester[6]
Nik Arrhenius[6]
Vesteinn Hafsteinsson
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)In International Competitions:
Outdoor:[7]
SP: 20.50 m (2013)
DT: 64.46 m (2011)
DT-1.75kg: 60.14 m (2005)
HT: 62.77 m (2010)
JT: 49.27 m (2020)
Indoor:
SP: 20.29 m (2013)
SP-35lbs: 21.56 m (2010)
Collegiate personal bests:[2]
DT: 207 feet 0 inches
SP: 65 feet 4.25 inches
HT: 205 feet 11 inches
JT: 163 feet 7 inches
WT: 70 feet 9 inches
Medal record
Representing the  Sweden
European Throwing Cup
Silver medal – second place2015 LeiriaShot put

Leif Hilding Arrhenius (born 15 July 1986 in Provo, Utah)[8] is a professional American-Swedish athlete competing in the shot put and discus throw.[9] He represented Team Sweden at two World and three European Championships. In addition, he is the 2011 U.S. Collegiate Indoor Champion.

Early years / dual citizenship

Born in Utah, Arrhenius has dual Swedish and American citizenship. Leif comes from a family of athletes and missionaries (see the "Family of athletes and missionaries" section below), where his great-grandfather, father and brother have all been Olympians.[8]

High school years

In 2003, Arrhenius was ranked 1st nationally in discus, 2nd in the shot put. In 2004, he was ranked 3rd in both discus and the hammer throw.[10][2] By the end of the 2003 season, at the Utah State Track & Field Meet, he threw the discus 37 feet further than second place Kevin Smith of Box Elder High School.[11]

In 2004, Arrhenius, while attending Mountain View High School and competing for the Bruins, at the Simplot Games track and field competition in Pocatello, Idaho, he broke his own national high school record by 0.75 inches with a toss of his 25-pound weight throw of 82 feet 7.25 inches. He also set a new Utah state high school record, while he finished second in the shot put with a toss of 64 feet 3 inches.[12]

University years

Arrhenius represented Brigham Young University and competed for the Cougars from 2005 and 2008-2011. He was a seven-time All-American. He was 2011 NCAA indoor champion in the shot put.[13]

In 2010, Arrhenius earned All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships, when he obliterated his personal best in the weight throw, achieving a fourth place finish.[14]

In 2011, Arrhenius, at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, threw the discus, 201 feet 3 inches (or 61.36 meters), that got him second place, and earned him a first-team All-American. He also threw the shot put, 63 feet 6.75 inches (or 19.37 meters), where he also got second place and first-team All-America accolades. This helped to put BYU in first place at this event.[15] A week later and he was selected as the Mountain West Men's Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year.[16] About the event, BYU head track & field coach said, "He did incredible for us, it was an amazing throw and he really competed down to the end. To score 16 points at Nationals is pretty tough to do."[17]

Arrhenius was also recruited by the University of Kentucky Wildcats and University of Washington Huskies.[18] BYU head Track & field coach Mark Robison said that Leif was one of the best to ever come out of high school.[19]

Coaching career

In 2013, Leif Arrhenius has again followed in his father's and older brother's footsteps by becoming a coach at Park City High School.[20] Leif's older brother, Nik, was a throws coach/assistant coach at BYU.[21][22] Leif's father, Anders Arrhenius, has been a volunteer throws coach at BYU.[5] Leif now works for Centennial Middle School in Provo, Utah, as the Boys' P.E. Coach.[23][24]

Family of athletes and missionaries

Great-grandfather

The great-grandfather of Leif Arrhenius, Bror Aron Axel Arrhenius, started this Legacy, when he took the family name Arrhenius on the 5th of December, 1901. He was conducting the Olympic choir at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm and he participated on the Swedish tug of war team that won gold medal. It was a exhibition sport for all of the musicians that participated from different countries.[25]

In another account, Bror Arrhenius, was the anchor of Team Sweden’s tug-of-war team at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm.[26]

Here is an external link to a 43-second video of the 1912 Tug of War competition:[27]

Father, Anders Hilding Arrhenius

Anders Arrhenius, was born in Sweden in 1947.[28] Then, in 1975, he threw for BYU and received All-American honors. Anders also went on to qualify for Sweden in the 1972 Summer Olympics.[5][29]

Mother, Kristine (née Fowler) Arrhenius

In the early 1970s, Kristine Fowler, who is from Rose Park, Salt Lake City, went to Stockholm, Sweden, on a church mission, where she first met Anders Arrhenius.[30]

Older brother, Dr. Daniel Anders Arrhenius, PDM

Like Leif, Dan Arrhenius was born in Provo, Utah in 1978. He went to Mountain View High School, where he earned all kinds of awards, honors and championships in the discus and shot put, just like Leif. Dan also did very well at BYU adding the hammer throw to the list of events.[31] Dan went on a church mission to Stockholm, Sweden, just like his mother and younger brother, Nik.[5] Dan graduated with his degree in Exercise Science, and continued with his schooling to eventually become a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM).[32]

Older brother, Niklas Bo Arrhenius

Like Leif, Nik Arrhenius was born in Provo, Utah, and went to Mountain View High School, where he earned all kinds of awards, honors and championships in the discus and shot put.[5] Nik graduated from BYU in 2006.[26] Niklas is the current throws coach at Brigham Young University.

Sister-in-law, Tiffany (née Rasmussen) Arrhenius

In 2004, Leif's brother, Nik, married Tiffany Rasmussen, from Oregon,[33] who was also an athlete at BYU. She threw the Javelin and graduated in 2007.[26][34]

Personal life

Arrhenius is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a church missionary in the Taichung Taiwan Mission.[10][2][18][6]

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Sweden
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 22nd (q) Discus throw 61.33m
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 13th (q) Shot put 19.33m
17th (q) Discus throw 60.49m
2013 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 10th (q) Shot put 19.61m
World Championships Moscow, Russia 14th (q) Shot put 19.53m
2014 European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 17th (q) Shot put 19.54m
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 19th (q) Shot put 19.07m
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 23rd (q) Shot put 18.64m

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor

References

  1. ↑ Hill, Greg (11 Jul 2008). "Olympics draw LDS athletes". Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Leif Arrhenius - Men's Track & Field 2011 - BYU Athletics - Official ..." byucougars.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  3. ↑ "Leif ARRHENIUS, Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age". olympics.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  4. ↑ "Athletes - Tilastopaja beta". www.tilastopaja.eu. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Arrhenius heritage continues at BYU in shot, discus and hammer". www.deseret.com. 11 May 2005. Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Harmon, Dick (26 May 2008). "Arrhenius is man to beat". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  7. ↑ "Leif ARRHENIUS | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  8. 1 2 Prague 2015 bios
  9. ↑ Leif Arrhenius at World Athletics
  10. 1 2 NewsNet Staff Writer (11 Mar 2009). "World-class throwing a family affair for BYU All-American". The Daily Universe. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  11. ↑ Yount, Michael (17 May 2003). "Arrhenius Bears Down, Boys: Bruin easily wins the discus at 189 feet, 9 inches as Mountain View takes the Class 4-A lead after the first day of the state meet; Boys Track: Bruin Boys Lead in 4-A". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  12. ↑ Deseret News (23 Feb 2004). "Arrhenius tops his own record. Utah prep star wins weight throw at meet". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  13. ↑ "Leif ARRHENIUS". www.iaaf.org. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  14. ↑ Deseret News (15 Mar 2010). "Campus briefs: BYU". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  15. ↑ Deseret News (8 Jun 2011). "BYU track: Cougars in first place at NCAA finals". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  16. ↑ Deseret News (16 Jun 2011). "BYU track: Leif Arrhenius wins award". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  17. ↑ Deseret News (10 Jun 2011). "BYU in 4th place at NCAA track meet". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Leif Arrhenius Athlete Profile MTrack | byucougars.com". byucougars.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  19. ↑ Harmon, Dick (26 May 2011). "BYU track and field: Cougars a strong-armed bunch". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  20. ↑ Raskin, Ben (30 Jan 2013). "Prep track: Justin Pickard of Park City breaks American youth shot-put record. Prep track • Justin Pickard attends Treasure Mountain Junior High in Park City". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 23 Oct 2023.
  21. ↑ Green, Justin (15 Aug 2023). "BYU track: Arrhenius competes at World Championships". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 15 Oct 2023.
  22. ↑ "Niklas Arrhenius - BYU Athletics - Official Athletics Website - BYU ..." byucougars.com. Retrieved 17 Oct 2023.
  23. ↑ "Centennial Middle School". centennial.provo.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  24. ↑ "Leif Arrhenius - my.uen Utah Education Network". my.uen.org. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  25. ↑ "Bror Aron Axel Arrhenius | FamilySearch.org". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  26. 1 2 3 Current Magazine Staff, All Writers (Fall 2007). "A Pair of Aces". Y Magazine. Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  27. ↑ Olympic Tug Of War - Great Britain Defeat Sweden | Stockholm 1912 Olympics. www.youtube.com. 1912. Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  28. ↑ Benson, Lee; Robinson, Doug (1 Jan 1992). Trials & Triumphs/Mormons in the Olympic Games. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company. Retrieved 13 Oct 2023.
  29. ↑ Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret News. 1998. p. 555. ISBN 1573454915.
  30. ↑ Harmon, Dick (11 Jun 2007). "Like father, like son for Arrhenius clan". www.deseret.com. Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  31. ↑ "Daniel Arrhenius". byucougars.com. 2004. Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  32. ↑ "About Dr. Daniel Arrhenius, PDM, and Banner Safety Practices". doctors.bannerhealth.com. 2017. Retrieved 16 Oct 2023.
  33. ↑ Lewis, Michael C. (25 Jul 2008). "Nik Arrhenius, Track & Field, Sweden - The Salt Lake Tribune". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 17 Oct 2023.
  34. ↑ "ARRHENIUS NAMED TO SWEDISH OLYMPIC TEAM - BYU Athletics". byucougars.com. 4 Jul 2008. Retrieved 17 Oct 2023.
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