Stephen Calkins’ journey in swimming began with a poignant motivation – his father’s near-drowning experience.

As a high school graduate, Brian Calkins thought he knew how to swim. Then he fell off a tube on the Wapiti River and almost didn’t make it to shore. He resolved to take swimming lessons in college, and passed on the importance to Stephen, his older sister Natasha and younger brother Nathan.

Stephen joined his first swim club at the age of six in Pickering, Ont.. He embraced the sport as he grew up, later moving to Alberta and swimming for the University of Calgary. He’s represented Canada at the Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games and World Aquatics Championships.

The son of a white father and black mother, Olympic sprinter Esmie Lawrence, Calkins noticed an absence of people who looked like him at swim meets and training. When he did see representation, such as Cullen Jones aiding Michael Phelps’ Beijing 2008 quest for eight gold medals in Team USA’s 4×100-m freestyle relay win, it created uncomfortable comparisons.

“Everyone wants to be like the next Phelps, but everyone kept on saying, like, ‘Oh, you can be the next Cullen Jones.’ Obviously, he was a great role model for the sport and for black people, but no one watched those Olympics and thought, ‘I want to be Cullen Jones,’ ’’ recounts Calkins, who was living in Kamloops, B.C. at the time. “It’s a weird comparison because it’s all about race at that point. He was the slowest member of that 4×1. Obviously 47.65 was really good but no one really knew him other than he was black. I think if he was white, no one would mention him.

These seemingly innocuous comparisons underscore the challenges BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of colour) athletes face in their daily lives, including within the realm of sports.

“Jones was one of the first people to do it so I give him credit,” Calkins said. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword. Your sports hero isn’t always the same race as you.”

“You just get put in a box.”

Calkins has represented Canada at Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games and most recently the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships. Even with the enthusiastic support from Team Canada fans – on the pool deck and throughout other sporting spaces – athletes are still susceptible to racism, bigotry and questioning their presence in a sport like swimming.

“There are always a few people who try to get me to give them a pass to say the ‘N word,’ ” Calkins explains. “It’s always a weird one because it happens every year, there’s always at least five people trying to get me to give the OK. And I always wonder, ‘What is your goal here?’ ”

“Then there’s other times when someone will say the ‘N word’ in front of you and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were there.’ They try to be casual about it and it’s not like they’re actually sorry for saying it, they’re sorry that I heard it.”

Calkins has experienced what it’s like to have a country cheer for you but also feeling unseen, being mistaken for a black teammate, and the nuances of racism while training in the U.S. and feeling “other” compared to his white teammates.

Calkins’ calm demeanour has helped him navigate the myriad of challenges he’s encountered. From the typical struggles of a swimmer’s love-hate relationship with the sport, to confronting overt and subtle racism, Calkins has handled them with resilience and perseverance.

Despite the obstacles he’s faced, the Pan American Games medallist acknowledges a positive trend of increasing black representation in the sport. Reflecting on his earlier years on deck where there were few black swimmers present, he notes a shift towards a more inclusive and diverse community.

“I remember at one point, really the only other black person I can remember and that I raced was Josh (Liendo),” recalls Calkins. “Whereas now, it feels more like a community. Growing up I only remember there ever being maybe six black people in swimming and I knew all of them. Now, there’s so many more black people who I don’t know but it’s nice because it shows that it’s growing.”

It’s an encouraging sign Calkins would like to see extend beyond athlete representation.

“We need more black coaches because there’s really not that many right now. I think we need more black people to come up through club swimming, find the love for the sport so that they continue to give back to the sporting community. Which doesn’t necessarily just go for black people, but I think women in the sport too when it comes to coaching.”

For Calkins, swimming is a passion that transcends monetary rewards and propels him through the rigours of training. As he continues to pursue his career in swimming, aiming for success at the upcoming U Sports Championships in Montreal and vying for his first Olympic team at the Trials in May, his drive remains unwavering.

“I’m really looking forward to Olympic Trials and trying to make the team. I really want to make the Olympic team this time because my mom has been bugging me,” said the 25-year-old. “It could be a last chance thing.”