Michelle Calkins is a Canadian former

synchronized swimmer Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

, world champion and coach.

Career

Calkins trained with the Calgary Aquabelles. In her first international competition she won a silver medal in the team event at the

1973 World Aquatics Championships The 1st FINA World Championships in Aquatics were held in the Tašmajdan Sports Centre in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia, from 31 August to 9 September 1973. Medal table Results Diving ;Men ;Women Swimming ;Men ;Women Synchroni ...

in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. She was also a member of the silver medal team at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...

. Her most notable successes came with her partner Helen Vanderburg. At the Pan Pacific Championships in Mexico City the pair won Gold for the first time. They won Gold again at the Canadian Aquatic Championships in 1978 in Berlin and were the first Canadian duo to earn gold medals in that event. Calkins retired from competition in 1978.

Coaching

After she retired from her swimming career she began coaching with the Calgary Aquabelles winning gold with her first team at the Canada Winter Games in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

. Michelle coached with the Aquabelle Club winning numerous Junior National team titles and Junior coach of the year 1984; continuing under the guidance of Olympic coach Debbie Muir, Michelle coached the Senior Aquabelle team to three National Championships over the span of her career. She began serving as a coach for the Canadian National Team in synchronized swimming in 1988, winning gold in solo, duet and team at the Loano Cup in Italy 1992 and Canada's last silver medal in Team at the World Championships in Rome in 1994. Michelle was honored Nationally by the Coaching Association of Canada for her success at the World Championships. Calkins was the personal coach of 5 Canadian team Olympians: Reed, Fonteyne, Clark, Chan and Tatham. She has since retired from coaching.

Titles

*1973 Belgrade, Yugoslavia - World Championships - silver in team *1975 Mexico City -

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

- silver in team *1976 Nagoya Japan - Pan Pacific Championships - silver in team *1977 Mexico City - Pan Pacific Championships - gold in duet, silver team *1978 Berlin Germany - World Championships - gold in duet

Honours

Calkins and Vanderburg won the Elaine Tanner award as the best young female athletes in Canada in 1977. Michelle and Helen were inducted to the Canadian Swimming Hall of Fame in 1979. She was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and became a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2001.

References

External links