kalmikovs, a native of riga, latvia, started swimming at the very young age under a soviet system. both of his parents were swimming coaches that motivated and inspired him to undergo training to an elite level and to become part of the latvian squad. he has one younger sister, margarita kalmikova, who is also an elite breaststroke swimmer. kalmikovs and his sister shared a sibling tandem in the sport, when they both competed together in two editions of the olympic games (1996 and 2000).