Photo from the Birmingham 20-22 Facebook page.

By Curtis Galbraith

Commonwealth Games

Grande Prairie-born swimmer to represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games

Jul 27, 2022 | 6:00 AM

A Grande Prairie-born swimmer will be representing Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

Stephen Calkins lived here until he was eight years old but says he still has some memories of his time in the Swan City.

“I liked to go to Muskoseepi Park and play around there. We lived by (Crystal Lake) so we would always go for bike rides around there.”

“My dad was a teacher at St. Joe’s so I was always hanging around there too.”

Calkins went to St. Patrick school and the Grande Prairie Piranhas were his first swim club.

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His dad is a basketball coach, his mom was a track athlete on Team Canada at the Olympics, and his sister is a volleyball player.

“My dad wanted us to learn how to swim because he almost drowned as a kid. I just never quit I guess.”

Calkins also spent time with the University of Denver team and is currently with the University of Calgary swim team.

“The NCAA is pretty intense. I’d practice at 6 (a.m.), so I’d wake up, I had it down to a science, I think it was 5:47, gave me just enough time before practice started.”

He is currently studying communications and culture with a minor in anthropology in Calgary.

Calkins had retired from the sport for a few days before he got a text from his coach.

“Swim Canada is asking if you are still swimming so I said say sure, see what they want. They arranged a Zoom meeting with me, and it was just the head guys at Swim Canada and the team manager. They asked me if I wanted to be on the team. I said yes, here I am back (swimming).”

His teammates include medalists from the Olympics and world championships, a group he feels it is about time he joined too.

“I was on a lot of junior teams with a lot of those people before they went on to win the Olympics, medal, and do all that stuff. So, it’s nice because I’ve known them for a long time, and I feel like I’m finally able to join them.”

Calkins says he doesn’t have any expectations going in.

“My mom did tell me that she got a silver medal at (the) Commonwealth Games, like, 30 years ago or something like that. So, (laughs), I guess I’ve got to see if I can beat that.” (His mom, Esmie Lawrence. won silver in the 4 x 100 metre relay in track and field at the 1986 Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, Scotland.)

Calkins thinks he will continue if he does well as Olympic trials are just over a year away.

He adds he still has relatives that live in Grande Prairie and Beaverlodge.

The opening ceremony for the games is set for Thursday with the swimming competition starting on Friday.