Leif Arrhenius

Early years and 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.

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.

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.

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.

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. A week later and he was selected as the Mountain West Men's Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year. 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."

Arrhenius was also recruited by the University of Kentucky Wildcats and University of Washington Huskies.

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. Leif's older brother, Nik, was a throws coach/assistant coach at BYU. Leif's father, Anders Arrhenius, has been a volunteer throws coach at BYU. Leif now works for Centennial Middle School in Provo, Utah, as the Boys' P.E. Coach.

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 5 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 an exhibition sport for all of the musicians that participated from different countries.

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

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

Father, Anders Hilding Arrhenius Anders Arrhenius, was born in Sweden in 1947. 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.

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.

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. Dan went on a church mission to Stockholm, Sweden, just like his mother and younger brother, Nik.

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. who was also an athlete at BYU. She threw the Javelin and graduated in 2007.

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.

Competition record

Personal bests Outdoor Shot put – 20.50 (Hässleholm 2013) Discus throw – 64.46 (Växjö 2011) Hammer throw – 63.62 (Provo, Utah 2014) Indoor Shot put – 20.29 (Copenhagen 2013) Weight Throw-21.56 (Fayetteville, Arkansas 2010)