Meet Calvyn Justus, the South African YouTuber who also just so happens to be one of the world’s greatest swimmers. So much so, you’ll probably be seeing a whole lot more of him (and his impossibly honed physique) if you plan on watching any of the Olympics in Rio, kicking off this Friday. So what exactly does a mega pro like Calvyn do to prepare for such a life defining event? We caught up with him to find out…
Where are you in the world right now?
RIO!!
What has your training schedule been like in the lead up to the Olympics?
It’s definitely been taken to a new level. We’ve been pushing ourselves harder than ever before, doing training camps in Europe and the United States. Currently our training has begun to slow down as the games are just around the corner.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIndzcKD4RN/?taken-by=calvynjustus&hl=en
Talk us through a day in the life of an Olympian in training…
It’s an early wake up, roughly 5:30 am, followed by a quick snack before heading off to the pool for the first swimming session of the day which will on average consist of 6km of swimming. After that it’s time for a big breakfast and then off to the gym for some core or weight training for an hour and a half. Lunch will ensue shortly after with an hour or two to rest and then its straight back to the pool for round 2!
https://www.instagram.com/p/8nfc6CIqpZ/?taken-by=calvynjustus&hl=en
How did you first get into swimming?
I swam in primary school like most kids, my teacher actually advised me to do extra lessons because my swimming “needed working on”. After some time I moved on to a swimming club to start swimming competitively at the age of 9. At 14 I moved to my current coach and head of the Olympic team, Graham Hill where I guess you could say I started really taking the sport seriously and the rest is history!
Where has been your favourite place to swim in the world to date?
I think one of my favourite places to compete in thus far has been America, I really enjoy the country and professionalism, the facilities are incredible as well.
Why did you decide to become a YouTuber?
It kind of just happened during my last year of high school, I would upload silly videos with a friend of mine once a week. As the years have gone by I like to think I’ve evolved the videos quite a bit to a point now where they are instalments of my life and swimming career.
What does making the Rio squad mean to you?
It means absolutely everything, It’s been my obsession, my dream, all I’ve thought about for I don’t even know how many years, so to finally be here and to have achieved this goal is the greatest feeling I’ve ever experienced.
What are you expecting from Rio?
As it’s my first Olympics I’m not quite sure what to expect. I’m kind of just taking it all one step at a time – performance wise I’m going to give it my all and see what happens!
How do you fit in travelling around training? Do you manage to combine the two?
Luckily our training involves a lot of travel. We’ve been travelling for close to 4 months now all over the world for training camps in the lead up to the Olympics, including places like Mauritius, Doha and most of Europe.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHPy7IrjNh4/?taken-by=calvynjustus&hl=en
Describe in three words how you are currently feeling about competing in your first Olympics?
Confident, Excited, Nervous.
To follow Calvyn on his Olympic journey, subscribe to his YouTube channel or catch him on Instagram.