The Observer, March 9, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 20
Barak Daon flexes his muscles in his freshman swimming debut
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Last month, the Veale Natatorium was abuzz with teams from all over the country. The temperature inside was about 80 degrees warmer than the harsh Cleveland winter outside. In the far right lane of the warm-up pool, there was a continuous motion of rotating arm and flip-turns. Everything seemed chaotic. The pool deck was packed with bleachers, coaches, timers, officials, and athletes. Spectators and swimmers alike were ordered over the loud speaker to be silent.
On the Case bleachers, in the midst of this confusion, sat Barak Daon, a freshman on the men's varsity swim team. Daon was used to disorder. His life seemed to be full of it. He was born in the town of Br-Sheva, Israel, a town removed from the conflicts of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. Here Daon's parents were professors at the Sbir College. His mother taught English while his father taught language for technology and computer programming.
"My mother even wrote a couple textbooks," said Daon, "like the ones that cost $150 in the bookstore." According to Daon, schools were different in Israel compared to the States, and so was the swimming.
"My mother started me in the swimming classes when I was young," said Daon. "I started competitively when I was around 10 years old." It didn't take him long to begin beating the competition. At the age of 11, Daon won the junior national swim meet for the 50-meter free, 100-meter fly, and 200-meter fly.
"Swimming was not as popular in Israel as it is here," said Daon. "Most towns only had one pool." His team couldn't even hold regular practices because the pool was owned by the city and rented to other people or for other events.
That all changed when he moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. in the summer before his sophomore year. There he swam for Cooper City High School and a club team called Ft. Lauderdale Aquatics (FLA). On his club team, Daon holds records for the 50 fly and the 100 individual medley, swimming a 25.77 and 1:00.26, respectively. Compared to Israel, FLA had two Olympic-sized pools of its own, and a strict practice schedule that every athlete had to adhere to.
"All the practice time and traveling was much different," said Daon. "At FLA you practiced much more and drove for hours to get to a meet." Being the largest swim club in south Florida, FLA competed in meets throughout the entire state, and even elsewhere in the nation.
In high school, Daon made finals both his sophomore and junior years at states and was a team captain. Yet, he graduated as a junior from high school because of the accelerated education he received in Israel. "I got the idea from a friend of mine who was a diver," said Daon. "It kind of seemed pointless to stay in high school."
Around this same time Daon's father, Yoran, had gotten a job offer to teach at Case as a Professor of Modern Languages. Eventually he accepted, and the family moved to Cleveland. At this point Daon's college choice seemed pretty clear.
"We were moving up here anyways and my sister went here," he said, "so why not?" Daon is a chemistry major. He is also thinking about completing pre-med requirements. "I want to do something with the muscles, not really a trainer, more like a sports orthopedist," said Daon. "I am obsessed with muscles."
Daon is also a music minor and plays alto saxophone. Right now he plays in a jazz band that was started by one of his father's colleagues, Per Aage Brandt. Daon has spent seven years playing the saxophone and was given the opportunity to play in the band when its saxophonist quit.
"My dad just introduced me and had me play a little bit," said Daon. "Then I was in the band." Brandt's Bip-Bop plays once or twice a month in the SAGES café. "I couldn't stand playing Mozart and all the classics at recitals," said Daon. "But playing jazz in a band is so much fun."
Daon may be obsessed with muscles, but evidenced by his stellar performance in the pool and musical talent, he is flexing his own muscles to make his mark at Case.
