Valērijs Kalmikovs
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Valērijs Kalmikovs |
| Nickname(s) | Val, Valery |
| National team | Latvia |
| Born | 4 March 1973 Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Weight | 89 kg (196 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Breaststroke, medley |
| College team | University of Nebraska (U.S.) |
| Coach | Jeļena Solovjova Cal Bentz (U.S.) |
Valērijs "Val" Kalmikovs (born March 4, 1973) is a Latvian former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events. He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000) and a top 16 finalist in the 200 m breaststroke on his Olympic debut in Atlanta (1996). He still holds a Latvian record in the 200 m breaststroke (2:16.21) that stood for more than a decade. While studying in the United States, Kalmikovs achieved a sixth-fastest of all time in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 2000 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. He has also been named a three-time Big-12 Conference Champion and a nine-time All-American, as a member of the University of Nebraska swimming and diving team. Since his sporting career ended in 2004, Kalmikovs has extensively traveled across the United States and Europe, working as a swimming coach. On September 9. 2019 Val became the first Latvian to swim across The English Channel. It took him 11 hours and 13 minutes (6pm-5am) to successfully finish the challenge.