The Athletes Podcast
The Athletes Podcast is a leading source of information, inspiration, and education for anyone interested in optimizing physical performance, maintaining good health, and living an active lifestyle. Join David Stark as he interviews some of the world's biggest athletes and fitness professionals, The Athletes Podcast provides practical advice, expert insights, and real-world strategies to help listeners achieve their health and fitness goals.The goal is to entertain, educate & inspire the next generation of athletes!
The Athletes Podcast
Finlay Knox - 2 x Olympian - 2024 World Champion - Episode #242
Ever wondered what it takes to represent Canada on the global stage in swimming? Finlay Knox shares the highs and lows of his journey, from his early days of balancing hockey and swimming to the intricate details of competing at the Olympics. Learn about the emotional and mental preparation leading up to his second Olympic appearance in Paris, and the personal sacrifices athletes make, including his choice to spend time with family over attending the closing ceremony. This conversation provides a rare glimpse into the dedication and mindset required for elite competition.
What sets apart a good swimmer from a great one? Dive into the technical and mental aspects of competitive swimming, where Finlay discusses body types, maintaining balance, and the critical role of confidence. Hear about the impact of now-banned "super suits," the rising stars of Canadian swimming like Summer McIntosh, and the perks of being an Olympian. This episode is a treasure trove of insights and inspiring stories, perfect for anyone looking to understand the world of high-performance sports from an insider's perspective.
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You've never been in a ready room with, like you know, multiple world record holders and Olympians and Olympic champions, and it's, like you know, some people kind of get stressed out and nervous about that. But, like for me when I was a kid, it was just like this is cool, like I've never been part of it. So it's like I'm just going to do whatever I'm going to do and swim, and I would swim well.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the show team.
Speaker 2:This is the 242nd episode of the Athletes Podcast. Today we feature Finley Knox. We're still here with the blue bus in Ontario, driving around town. We are three weeks away from the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, where I'll be rocking my New Balance Ballos shoes. I've been running all across southern Ontario. I can't wait to keep going. Put that race to the test across southern ontario. I can't wait to keep going. Put that race to the test. Try and finish sub four hours. Uh, we wouldn't be able to do it without you folks, though.
Speaker 2:Watching, consuming the athletes podcast using our athlete agreement, where because you know, we don't give away this for free you got to hit the subscribe button wherever you're consuming our content, and you're also going to get to learn from two-time Olympic competitor Finley Knox. He's been on the world stage for years now. He's also competing for UBC men's swim team. The guy's an absolute beauty. We met up post-UFC fight night so we were both a little tired, but we had a great conversation. We also looked at some perfect sports protein powder. You know I'm biased, but my favorite is the Canadian maple. It's the best on the market. If you haven't tried it yet, it's the number one selling protein in Canada, and if you use the code AP20, you get to save 20%. So let me know what you think both of the show and the Canadian maple protein powder down below, and let's get to it.
Speaker 2:The 242nd episode of the Athletes Podcast featuring Finlay Knox. Here we go. You're the most decorated racquetball player in US history, world's strongest man, from childhood passion to professional athlete, eight-time Ironman champion. So what was it like making your debut in the NHL? What is your biggest piece of advice for the next generation of athletes, from underdogs to national champions? This, the athletes podcast, where high performance individuals share their triumphs, defeats and life lessons to educate, entertain and inspire the next generation of athletes. Here we go. What people's priorities are at like, what their experiences have been like? For me, it's like brands. Well, especially in the female space, brands are claimed to be investing more, but they aren't necessarily doing it as much of their budgets, or I don't know. It's an interesting game. Fortunately, we have people like perfect sports who send us products, informed choice, supplements, and uh, we get to use the best protein in Canada. World's strongest man, mitchell Hooper, was using it. You, you know. So you gotta get after it occasionally.
Speaker 2:Uh, finley Knox, thanks for coming on the athletes podcast bro uh fellow whoop band love that I didn't even know that before. Yo, what was your sleep score last night? Do you have? A good one, not that good, no, yeah you're still recovering a little jet lag, or what?
Speaker 1:um, you know, maybe a little bit of a late night, but uh, I've been. I've been rocking like um 85 percent recoveries all week. So, how, what do you do? What's your sleep protocol? Uh, making sure that I don't know. You're obviously being aware of how much caffeine you're taking at night and um also making sure your environment's good. Um, I mean, a classic one is is wearing a sleep mask so you're not getting any, uh, excess light coming in disrupting your your sleep and um quiet environment. Are you? Uh, are you mouth taping? I, yeah, so I've um dream recovery, sent me some some mouth tape to trial and it's been pretty good. I feel like I naturally do breathe through my nose at night um, but just that reassurance is pretty cool.
Speaker 1:It, yeah, it's pretty neat.
Speaker 2:I feel like as a swimmer, you're automatically probably better off nasal breathing to begin with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, uh just the benefits to nasal breathing and making sure that, um, I mean I think one it stops, like the snoring and all that which also disrupts sleep, and so, yeah, there's a lot of benefits to it.
Speaker 2:James Nestor's book Breath I read it a couple of years ago changed my life, man. I've been mouth taping every night for two, three, four years. Whoop score is like, yeah, ridiculous. The whoop score changes. Even I was just past sick this past week and I wasn't able to melt it because, you know, I didn't want to yeah, and yeah, but it was crazy.
Speaker 2:I could not believe how difficult it was to actually get a proper sleep if I wasn't nasal breathing, and athletes know this. Like there's another brand I can't remember what it was, but they do a performance, one that you wear while you're working out oh, um yeah, like restricts the breathe, or is?
Speaker 1:is it the restriction of the breath, or is it like to make sure you're working out with nose breathing?
Speaker 2:there's both. Uh, there was one that was like a tape brand I just saw it but colonna high performance hockey fest a couple weeks ago and they had it tried it out. But then there's also like o2 or go devices, go2 devices where it's like restriction, to your point. I had one of those guys on the show a couple of years ago. Now it's been a long time. We've done a lot of these, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:There's going to be like 242. Finally, back in Vancouver chatting with a UBC Thunderbird. Now Tell me about first year, dude, we'll get into the Paris. Actually, maybe let's take a step back. You just got back from paris. You were also in hawaii a little vacay after that, right, a little little little freshen up. I'm surprised you're oh, you got a pretty good tan. Uh, let's, let's talk about paris first. Let's, let's break that down. Obviously you won a world championship a couple months prior to that. But uh, tell me what it was like, dude, traveling across the country, across the freaking world, and representing your country. Obviously that's got to be an honor every time you throw on that maple leaf, but I'll let you share what it was like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really cool, obviously, um, I was kind of telling you before this. You know, I've I've represented canada the olympic games and commonwealth games, pan-american games, championships, short course worlds, long course worlds, all those and um, it really doesn't change it's. It's always so exciting to to be selected and to represent your country, especially in a sport where you've kind of made it to the top. It's um, it it is a reality check of, like, you know, the work is paying off and um, especially when we're on a team in paris where there's, I believe, 12 guys, it's like you know, you're one of 12 who made it in all of canada, so it's like it's a pretty small group and, um, it's incredible to know that.
Speaker 1:You know, when you're nine, ten years old and you're like, oh, I'm just swimming because like I love it, uh, that it would turn into a career and something where you're, um, you know, the top of the, the top.
Speaker 2:So was that when it started? Nine, ten years old, I would say yeah.
Speaker 1:So I started swimming, kind of around six years old, um, competitively at seven, eight, um, and I was balancing hockey swimming and um swimming it's a lot easier to know if you're doing good or not obviously a time-based sport. You know if you're swimming well, um, and I was on track to break a few provincial records and in hockey it was more just like you know you play against, you know a bad team and you score a couple goals, goals, and you're like I'm the best, and then?
Speaker 1:you play against a pretty good team and you can't even get the net on the puck. So, uh, or the puck on the net.
Speaker 2:So net on the puck too, that I always struggle with that.
Speaker 1:So um, it's hard to to kind of figure out how good you are, especially at a young age. Um, and and swimming was that, you know, detail oriented, time-based sport. That kind of I needed for my stimulation and that's why I stuck with it.
Speaker 2:What position do you play in hockey?
Speaker 1:I was usually center. Oh, okay, yeah, center, right wing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've been a big. Uh Leon dry sidle out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Six, six, two, six, three, six" 6'4". Here. I was trying to up my game here. Maybe I was wearing taller shoes. What was so okay? Paris, you're one of 12 selected. Obviously you had won that world championship. This is your second Olympic Games. Nerves heading into it a little calmer, heading into it as your second, give me a sense of heading across. Obviously, paris, some pretty nostalgic olympic games, history associated with it, um, opening games, closing ceremonies. Opening ceremonies like give me, give me the gist yeah.
Speaker 1:So obviously in february I did come away with a world championship gold. Um, I mean, we could go down and break down how that is kind of misleading at some points just because of the way swimming is and all that stuff. But it was a great opportunity and not necessarily gave me this sense of like oh, you know, I could go in and win a medal but it gave me the confidence that I knew that. You know it was my first time swimming prelim semis finals in the 200 IM. You know it was my first time swimming prelim semis finals and in the 200 IM.
Speaker 1:And, um, knowing that obviously in Paris it's going to be prelim semis finals, and being able to adapt to that and learning how to recover, so, um, I wouldn't say there was many nerves. Obviously I had goals and not expectations. But you know you want to push the limit and, um, sometimes you don't really reach that. But uh, I was. But I was going in kind of clear-headed. You know there was definitely a lot, you know, tune and I am has kind of blown up in the last few years of of its depth and it's probably one of the fastest events in a while. So, um, it was just cool to be a part of that and um, just being able to progress from prelims to semis to finals was pretty, pretty cool and um, in terms of like opening ceremony closing ceremony.
Speaker 1:Unfortunately, as swimmers, we do compete day one of the olympics and um, usually that means an early morning and the closing or the opening ceremonies go pretty late at night. So we as swimmers, typically around the world, we'd never go to the opening um, unless you're maybe from a smaller country or you're not competing till day five, day six, um. But at least, team canada, we never go to the opening. We usually watch the first half on the telly um before we go to bed to get ready for the first prelim session. Um, this year was the first year where we were allowed to go to the closing um, obviously, in to Tokyo, we got kicked out the day after we finished competing. So, uh, that was, you know, a cool thing that we were allowed to do.
Speaker 1:I ended up not going. Yeah, um, we were allowed to stay in the village three days after we competed Um, so you kind of had to find accommodation for those five or six days before closing. And I was already on holiday with my family and we were out in Spain when the closing was happening and rather than making the trek back, it was just I'll throw it on the TV, see when Team Canada walks out. But I'm on holiday now. It's switching my brain off.
Speaker 2:The swimmer's getting the short end of the stick every single year, every four years. I mean I feel like they got to change that. There's gotta be some type of adjustment made so that athletes can experience those opening and closing ceremonies. Maybe that's just me. Obviously it didn't impact you too much. Um, when you, when you think about, like, progressing into the semis and the finals, sharing that pool with Leon I also heard there was the commentators talking about the fact that the pool wasn't very fast. Is this?
Speaker 1:fact, um, now I'm not a scientist Um, so yeah, there's regulations when it comes to these Marthatha pools and and pre-built or like temporary pools and, um, I believe it was like it has to be between, uh, two and three meters deep. Um, obviously, a lot of the permanent pools are three or deeper. Um, I mean again, I'm no scientist, but you know you hear this where the deeper the pool, the more the the water can kind of disperse and, um, less turbulence you have underwater. Um, but you know you have some events where they were saying at the beginning like, oh, this is slow pool because there wasn't fast swims. But then you have, uh, you know, the hunter free and panzan lee going, you know, half a second faster than the world record and in the fast, one of the fastest events. So it's like, is it a slow pool? I mean, he went 46.4. So I don't think so.
Speaker 2:People can't even run that fast like it's all. It's mind-boggling what people are able to do in the water. I completed a triathlon last year and that lifeguard was looking at me nervous, and it was only a 750 meter swim. So you guys that spend a ton of time in your water, kudos to you. I have to ask, though, the Asian gentleman that just won the Paralympics gold, that a hundred meter with no arms. Can you give me how you would wrap your head around the way he's able to accomplish that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, even in the 50 free he's got an incredible kick. I believe he was like 29 low. I mean it's all about body line. You see he's got a bow wave going over his head. He's nice and stable. He, you know he's able to hold his going over his head. He's nice and stable. He, you know he's able to hold his breath his whole way, so, um, keeping his lungs full of air. He's buoyant in the water and he's got a strong, power, powerful, consistent kick. It's like. You know, for me, for example, like my flutter kick is not the best. If I were to do a flutter kick on a board head down, I'm going like 31 and he's you know, he's ripping 29. So it's it's like, it's very impressive. Like as swimmers, we watched that and we're like we need to step up.
Speaker 2:Right, and not to mention the guys sending it full force into that end wall. Like I couldn't believe, as like I've watched that thing probably a half a dozen times now and to your point you're even with no arms. If you were just kick and his kick is very nominal, like I swear he wasn't even splashing nearly as much as the others yes, especially in swimming.
Speaker 1:It's like you want to make sure your feet you're having the balance of feet high enough in the water where you're not kicking. Obviously, the deeper you go in the water, the more resistance you kind of have and the more I guess what we call it is like the more pressure you have on your foot right, um, so you want to have a balance of being able to have your feet out of the water so that you're able to have that tempo and high, high cadence. Um, but deep enough where you're you're not just kicking air right, um.
Speaker 2:So he, you know, keeping that consistent and balanced, it's like it's incredible so is that you guys back in the in the like canadian dorms watching that, being like, oh my gosh, how does this even happen?
Speaker 1:yeah, I mean, are you back at ubc, for instance. To be honest, whenever you flick on the, the paralympics, you're just like you're just blown away, right, it's. You know, you try to put it yourself in that position and it's like you know I'm, I'm swimming this time, um, full, able bodied, and it's like, okay, these guys are pretty darn close to what we're doing and they're they're obviously at a slight disadvantage and it's just like you know.
Speaker 1:Again, a lot of times when you watch it, you kind of learn a few things because, for sure they're having to adapt and um, for example, that 50 free kick, it's like that's how important body line is, and and again it resorts back to whenever I'm doing clinics or anything like that. It's it's you know, I'm telling these kids gotta be in streamline, make sure you're in streamline. And to a lot of them it's like, yeah, come on, like we already know that, but it's like this is how important it is. You know, it's um, it's a fundamental of the sport. And it's like, if you don't have the fundamentals down, it's like you're just slowing yourself down.
Speaker 2:So and it's such small changes can enact such major results. And I imagine when you're teaching kids, you also identify areas where you can be like, oh, I could be doing this better. I find that coaching basketball I'm like, oh, these are areas where I could have used that 10 years ago when I was actually playing For you as a 23-year-old going back first year university, you've got to be uncovering a new learning chapter in your career while also competing at the highest level. We chatted about it before we started recording. Can you share your mindset around it? Cause I think it's pretty unique, uh, the way you've been able to kind of approach this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think, um, especially when it comes to school, obviously, having the last five years just in the swimming space, I do have quite an extensive knowledge of swimming, but now it's like understanding, um, what I'm actually capable of doing and and kind of putting my knowledge into practice not that I wasn't doing that, but it's like you're just a little bit more like, for example, in one of my classes it's more of a social science and learning about how, um, we wrote this one paper and it just it was just about movement and water and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:And you know, I'm talking about how important is for, like, streamline and being able to be comfortable in the water and not be aggressive and all this stuff. And it's like, to me, this, this makes total sense and I'm writing this out. But then I'm looking at, like, some of my races and it's like, oh, I'm talking about how I need to be a little calm to make sure I'm not, you know, being tense and using up more oxygen, and it's like I was definitely way too tense in that race and it's like kind of opening my, my eyes up a little bit to a different perspective and it's like it's pretty cool because it's like, um, not often do you get a kind of step back and look at it logistically rather than just as an athlete and just like this is what I do it was.
Speaker 2:I found that part super interesting that athletes who are swimming staying calm enables crazy results, like the guys who are all jacked up, hard, tense, didn't perform as well, didn't have the same results. Uh, how does that impact? You Like training, going into the gym. You're like I don't want to be a big, super muscular guy, even though you've got a good physique. You're like how do you? How do you manage that? Cause I've I see that on the screen guys who are jacked up. They didn't perform, perform as well. Does that just come down to body? How the water wraps around the skin?
Speaker 1:give me some details there yeah, so obviously there's a balance. It's like I was talking with my uh, one of my old coaches about this earlier, but, um, obviously different events have different physiques and different body structures. Obviously, if you look at the men's 53, it's leaning towards more these big, strong, powerful guys. They can kind of muscle their way through a little bit. Obviously it's mainly technique, but if you're only racing for 20, 21 seconds, you need to have your heart rate up, you need to be kind of jacked up and ready to go. On the other hand, if you look at, like, the men's tune, your breaststroke breaststroke being a very feely stroke and like what I mean by that is it's more making sure you're you're feeling the water with your hand and you're getting the water on your forearms and up in the elbows and you're scooping it and you have to be a lot more careful with with how you're swimming, um to make sure you're grabbing the one, you're not slipping it.
Speaker 1:Breaststroke is a very technical stroke, um, and it's one of the strokes where, if you're slightly off, it's a huge difference, um, so it's like, especially if you look at the men's two in your breaststroke, the women's two in your breaststroke, you know you rarely see guys going in like slapping their chest, like getting amped up because they know they have to kind of keep that heart rate down it's, even though it's only, you know, two minute long race it's. They have to be sensible with how they're approaching it. They're not going out too hard, they're being um patient with it all. So that's like the incredible thing with swimming is like. Obviously there's different techniques in terms of approaching your races. Obviously, the four different strokes, different builds. Um, I think, in terms of build, the most important thing is to um not try to become something you want to be and just be who you're meant to be. If that makes sense.
Speaker 1:So it's like, for example, this is this is, you know, whenever people always ask like, oh, should you be like super jacked up or super lean? It's like you look at David Popovich, you know he's known as the skinny legend. He's obviously a young kid, but he's quite tall, very, very lean. And then, on the other hand, um, you know, you got guys like Caleb Dressel, um, kyle Chalmers, they're, they're a little bit more muscular guys and it's like if you were to get those athletes and switch their body types, they probably wouldn't be the speed they are, Um, they're doing, you know they're, they're utilizing their advantages, which is, you know, caleb is his power and his, his, um advantages, which is, you know, caleb is his power and his, his um, his speed, whereas david, his, his advantages, his technique and his abilities stay consistent and progress.
Speaker 1:You know, he, he really builds into that hundred. So it's like you, you got to take advantage of what your body's given, like what you're given with and um, you know, you just you can't try to be someone who you're not. You just got to accept kind of what body type you have and and find the event that that structures around your body type the best yeah, it's like.
Speaker 2:It's like any track and field or olympic event really realistically, you've got shot putters like a sarah mitten who doesn't look like most of her competitors but still throws 20 plus and wins diamond league recently. Like that's just kind of depending on what works for you. Uh, were you eating 10,000 calories a day Like Michael Phelps or um?
Speaker 1:probably not quite 10,000 calories, obviously, when that was like a big thing. Um, you know, he was swimming seven days a week and he was probably hitting like a hundred kilometers a week week obviously I don't know the actual numbers, but you know he was doing pretty heavy mileage and that's a lot of cardio.
Speaker 1:He's burning a lot of calories. So it's like, yeah, he did need to. Um, obviously, now there's more the approach of like, okay, you know certain athletes like phelps and that, like he can do that, but a lot of people um, either a, they get burnt out, injuries, all that stuff. So it's being a little bit smarter with, with how we're approaching it. And you know there's a huge um trend towards it's called sprint revolution. Okay, um, which is basically spending less time in the water, less time swimming, more time in the gym and just working on technique.
Speaker 1:Um, obviously, a lot of people jump to conclusions and you know they're like sprint revolution doesn't work, you know, and they're expecting that to be. Um, you know you do the these short training sessions and still be good at like a 400 free or two, and you're free, when in reality it's like you have to train for your event and it's like you know, if you're doing the 1500, 800, you're going to have to lock in and do you know, a hundred, k weeks. But if you're only swimming for 20 seconds and it's, you gotta be smart with it. So, um, again it, there's so many different things and swimming's in a weird spot where it's like there's a lot of old school guys out there and a lot of people don't like change. Um, so there's a balance of like we're trying to progress and it's like people are trying these new things and, um, like Michael Andrew with his uh, uh, our um race pace, uh, usrpt stuff and the sprint revolution, it's like they're trying new things, but a lot of people, because it's different, they kind of hate on it.
Speaker 1:Um, I think it awesome. I think, uh, we're finding different ways to, you know, enjoy swimming and we're still, although swimming's been around for a long time, it's held on to a lot of like old school stuff. Um, so it's cool. It's cool we're in a progressive sport and we're always learning and changing. You know, know, it's like the training I did when I was 10, 11, or when I was 10, 11, and like how you're meant to train to be a world-class athlete was different when I was 17, 18, which is different to kind of how I'm now not like dramatically, but enough, where it's like, you know, you can see the progression and you can see, um, where from.
Speaker 2:So it's really cool yeah, the, uh, my day job. We are doing firefighter training in vr, so similar to how pilots and pro athletes have been using virtual reality to train. We're like giving it to first responders. It's like why wouldn't we give the same access to technology to the first responders, who we expect to perform like pro athletes or pilots? You know we got to give them the same resources. What has changed for you since you were seven, eight, nine, ten to now? Like, are you doing sprint revolution? Are you doing this rpm? What like what? What are you integrating? How do you do this? Give us like a day in the life for a week, a week in the life of finley knox yeah.
Speaker 1:So the first thing is obviously how does your body respond? Um, we have some guys who can do, you know, 60, 70k, like mileage in the water a week and it's like they're ready to go the following week. And some guys they hit 60, 70 and they're like cooked yeah they can't.
Speaker 1:And you know, I I would say I'm not necessarily someone who, um can kind of get through a 60k, and when I mean 60k is like 60 kilometers of swimming a week, um and like I'm ready to go the next week. So it's like I definitely prefer spending a lot more time, um like working on technique and kind of not say stepping back from the mileage, but being just smart with it. Obviously it also depends on who you are as an athlete and and your mindset. Some people they get confidence from grinding out like crazy sets and pushing their body to the limit and they know when they step up on the blocks that they've pushed themselves more than the person next to them and they have that confidence that when things get hard they can just like go. Whereas for me, I'm more of the approach of like.
Speaker 1:When things start getting hard in the race and I start fatiguing, I need to make sure that even though I'm fatiguing, I'm still swimming efficient and my technique isn't breaking down. I hate the approach. My technique isn't breaking down. Um, I hate the approach Like. Personally, I don't like it when it's like if I'm starting to fatigue and my strokes breaking down, I can just muscle through it and just like fight my way. It's like, no, I need to make sure that when I'm fatiguing and I can feel my legs dropping, my core is core is getting weak. I'm still swimming as efficiently as possible and if I'm able to do that and the person next to me is of this approach of like, if I start breaking down, I can just like muscle it out that you know I'm obviously going to be more efficient than them. So in terms of energy output, I'm going to be the better athlete.
Speaker 1:Um, but again, the other thing is your mindset and your mental and, um, obviously, mental health is a huge thing and we're learning more about the mental approach to it and it's just like confidence is such a big key factor.
Speaker 1:So it's like, at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how, um, you kind of approach these races. It's like if someone is standing on the blocks and they know that they're gonna like win and just destroy, the chances of them doing that are much greater than the person next to them, who is probably a better athlete. But they're like they're, you know they're kind of scared and you know they don't know if they're capable. You know they're doubting themselves and the athletes who are doubting themselves, especially in those those tough moments where it's you're on that last 50 and you're neck and neck with someone and you're both tired. If you're, if you have some sort of doubt, your mind, the person who's confident is going to kind of prevail and kind of take over. So, um, there's a huge training aspect, but, like, the mental aspect is also huge as well and it's, like you know, we're really kind of getting into that now, which is really cool to see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting you bring that up. I uh, have you read the book the confident mind by Nate Zinser?
Speaker 1:No, I haven't, but there's a few books on my list to read.
Speaker 2:Okay, you should add that one. I brought it up a couple weeks in a row here on the pod. It's. I read it or I listened to it, sorry when I drove my ants Miata from Montreal back to white rock and right in the middle of that I had the Calgary stampede half marathon. And I'm not a runner, but I listened to that book and trained enough that I was confident and, to your point, the confidence that came from that eliminated the self doubt tenfold If I had done more training. You know the results. Um, what are you doing to scratch that service? Are you working with a psychologist sports? Are you doing this on your own? You seeking out your own books? What are you taking in?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so obviously sports psychs is like the number one thing. I'm super grateful that I'm with the high performance center and we get access to that stuff. So I'm trying to utilize that and really just open my mind up to the confidence and the mental side of swimming. Um, you know not saying that, I went through phases where I wasn't confident, but there was definitely times in my swimming career where I kind of wish I had different strategies and stuff like that. And there's especially when you get up to like the high level swimming.
Speaker 1:Um, you have, like when you first break into the scene, you kind of have that ignorance of like you never been in these situations, you've never been in a ready room with, like you know, multiple world record holders and olympians and olympic champions, and it's like you know, some people kind of get stressed out and nervous about that.
Speaker 1:But like for me when I was a kid, it was just like this is cool, like I've never been part of it. So it's like I'm I'm just going to do whatever I'm going to do and swim and I would swim well. But then as I kind of got more experience and, um, you know, worked up and progressed in the sport, you know, having better accomplishments and stuff. You start sitting in these ready rooms and it's like you start, I guess, overthinking things and you know so. It's like learning how to channel your mind and channel the self-doubt. And you know, there's the saying of you got a mini chimp in your head and it's like constantly running its mouth and telling you what's going to go wrong and learning how to calm that inner voice. And you know, do what, you know what you can do.
Speaker 2:Do you do any like breathing breath work? What's the yeah?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, uh, one thing that I I incorporated last year into my pre-race routines and, um, I sorry I was talking about, like the ready room, and in swimming it's, um, when you go to a competition um, typically 20, 15 to 20 minutes before you race, you have to go to the ready room, which is basically a room with eight chairs and all the people you're racing in. You just sit there for 10, 15 minutes with your competitors and then they just um, just to make sure that everyone's there, and then they can walk you guys out for the competition. So, um, when I mentioned anything to do with the ready room, that's kind of what I for the competition. So, um, when I mentioned anything to do with the ready room, that's kind of what I'm talking about. But, um, yeah, so when you're in this ready room, you're sitting there with seven other guys who you're going to race against, and usually you're there for about, you know, 15 minutes and it's just silent. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Some, you know, a lot of times you have good friends and you chat. But, um, you know, for me, a lot of times you have good friends and you chat, but, um, you know, for me, I know I perform the best when I can kind of get in the zone and I have music going.
Speaker 1:So you're in this room for like 10 minutes just sitting with your rivals or you know who you're going to race against and it's like this is a time where people win or lose races. On the mental side, because you know it, it is. You know, when I was a kid, for me being in a ready room with like a world champ and a world record holder and Olympic champion, it was like this is the coolest experience ever. But I also know I have friends who were like they sat in that ready room and they're like I don't deserve to be here.
Speaker 1:And it like freaks them out. So it's like learning how to like control that. So one thing I've incorporated into my like pre-race routine is is just breathing. It gives me something to focus on. Um, a lot of times when you're in these ready rooms, especially for me, the thing I struggled with was, you know you would have those self-doubts of like, am I doing the right things? Should I be? You know, you see a world record holder doing arm swings and you're like, should I be doing arm arm swings? You look over and it's like you see a world champ. He's just sitting there, you know, literally just his suit on. And it's like. You know, you always hear the same like you got to stay warm, like you got to be warm to race, and it's like this dude is literally just wearing shoes in his suit and it's like, oh, he's not staying warm, like, and you just start second guessing everything. So, like, incorporating this breathing allows me to focus on something and know what, and it allows me to do what I know I need to do to perform well. So breathing is a huge one for me.
Speaker 1:Um, I mean, obviously there's the benefits of like making sure that you're getting the proper oxygen into your body. A lot of times when people get nervous, they they breathe up in their chest and they're you're shallow breathing and you're not really getting full deep breaths in. Also, that shallow breathing kind of spikes your heart rate up a little bit. Parasympathetic system, yeah. So having the breath work just calms your heart rate down. It kind of gives you a level head and it gives me something to focus on. So when I turn on the music and like walk out and I stop the breathing, that's when I can get my heart rate to spike up and that's when my body's like all right, it's time to go um.
Speaker 1:So just like incorporating a bunch of different stuff like that, and again it's all trial and error yeah so last year we had quite a few swim meets where I was testing out how long I was breathing, or like doing specific breathing. So so, like some box breaths, yeah. So for me it's um like six seconds in, two second hold, eight second out, two second hold, just stuff like that. That really works for me. Um, and just like figuring out when should I start it, when should I stop it. Um, you know, trialing, stopping the breath or like stopping that box breathing or whatever the form of breathing. That is, um, like right before you race or five minutes before you race, and just trialing it. So when you get to the olympics or the world championships and you execute that, you know exactly what you need to do and it's just, it's on on habit now. Yeah autopilot.
Speaker 2:That's like a ufc weigh-in with other nine other guys around you. You're all just grilling each other for 15, 20 minutes. I can't even imagine that. That would be an intimidating setting. And uh, you're all there in your speedos to like talk about just being out there with everyone and then okay. So 15, 20 minutes, you're in the ready room.
Speaker 1:Uh, then you throw on your music. What's the walkout song? It depends, um, for me I kind of use music as a a stimulus or a calming thing. So if I'm going into race and I'm really nervous which, you know, it doesn't happen too often, but if that's the case, I definitely need something a little bit more chill, a little bit more relaxing. Give me an example Maybe something like Kanye is a really good one because he's got a lot of variety.
Speaker 1:Or, like you know, some Ice Cube on his like slower stuff, but something where it's like, you know, you're still getting a little pumped up by the lyrics, but, um, just like the beat is a little bit smoother, a little bit slower, um, but then there's a times where it's like in season, you're not nervous, you don't really want to be at this race, but you, you know you need to like kind of be pumped up. So that's when you have like the upbeat, aggressive, like DMX type music. And then there's like the balance of um. You know it always changes because there's different songs coming out and you know, if you listen to the same song before each race, it just kind of get repetitive.
Speaker 1:I just kind of hate the song, but um, yeah I. I typically use music as um uh, help to to get me in the right mindset and mood to race the best I can.
Speaker 2:Hey, team, if you haven't heard about it yet, diesel is Canada's number one selling protein powder on the market. If you use the code AP20, save 20%. I personally love the Canadian maple flavor. Pineapple mango is one of the best selling as far as you guys are concerned. You use the code. I see what you buy, so let me know what you think. I love it. Uh, you said you played hockey growing up. What other sports did you play growing up? What makes finley knox unique that's allowed you to be like one of the top swimmers in the world?
Speaker 1:yeah, I think um. I mean growing up it was I played some like soccer rugby. I grew up in New Zealand so we surfed every night big into skateboarding, snowboarding. I still snowboard every winter Up at West, or what.
Speaker 2:No, so this would be.
Speaker 1:Lake Louise Sunshine. Those are the locals. But yeah, I think if I were to really have to look at it objectively and it's like what probably sets me apart from other people, it's, um, I would say I'm pretty coordinated, um, you know, and also the desire to, you know, be the best. So, having that competitive mindset, having that I get, it's not really a healthy mindset because, you know, as you get older, you kind of realize that, like everything I do, I want to be the best. It probably isn't the best approach, but in terms of swimming, that's like that's kind of the mindset you have to have, or any sport to be good at. You never talk, like you rarely hear high level athletes at the top of their sport, who's achieved you know incredible things, them being like yeah, I don't really care about the know, it's like you rare, that's like a rare case, and most of the time it's like I've dedicated my whole life to this. I'm probably a little twisted in the head, but that's what made me a great athlete. So welcome to the club.
Speaker 2:Uh, what, uh? Was it like that from day one for you? Did you know that swimming was going to be that sport? Did it come kind of as a? You saw those numbers and you were like hey, I'm on pace to do something special.
Speaker 1:I like this enough, I'm going to keep doing it yeah, well, I think, um, as a kid I've always been probably a little too serious. So whenever doing any form of sport, it was like, if I'm doing this, it's to be the best. You know, I'm not doing something for fun. It was always like how can I get better? How can I do?
Speaker 2:this. They sent me this cause they know I'm a little too serious. I think that's why we'll have to get you on.
Speaker 1:I love that, um, but yeah, so it's like we're swimming um or hockey. Growing up it was like always watching the best athletes compete and like that would get me fired up. And like, um, also, like obviously as a kid it would be michael phelps, like that.
Speaker 1:That was kind of like the given, like jerome mcginley from a hockey side, calgary for a calgary fan would be jerome, and obviously you got like crosby, ovechkin, like, just like, typically as young athletes. You look at the great of the greats, yep, um, and you know, as a young swimmer who didn't really know too much about swimming, obviously you hear phelps and then it's like you kind of hear about lochte and then it's like then you kind of start hearing about all the other great athletes in in that kind of era of swimming and um, but you know that that was, that's a classic. You talk to any kid growing up like you. You know he won eight golds in in Beijing and seven world records and it's like if some kid didn't look up to him as as a kid, it's like you weren't watching, you weren't really watching. So, um, yeah, there's, there's a lot of great athletes that I watched.
Speaker 1:That got me kind of fired up and again, I think the reason I I chose swimming was because it was. It gave me that result, that or that definite result that I knew I was doing well and I was better than the other people. It was hockey, it's, it's a team sport, it, you know you, you can have a fantastic game but still lose because you know your team wasn't connected and the other way around, where it's like you could win a game, but you play horribly and it was like it was hard for me as a kid to wrap my mind around that where swimming it was so simple.
Speaker 1:It was like if I trained well and I swam well, I had a good result. If I didn't have a good result, it was on me.
Speaker 1:You know it was like it was easy to kind of fine-tune why I was swimming well or why I wasn't swimming well. Yeah, um, and that simplicity was was kind of what stimulated me and, like, hockey didn't give me that. It was more like, you know, you get put on a good team, it's like you're winning every game, but then it's like, am I actually a good player? Am I just part of this team? So, um, obviously, when you're like 10, 11 years old, you're so young that, like you know, you, by the time you get to like 17, 18, that's when you really know of like someone truly, truly special and they're not just like, yeah, you know, surrounded by bad players and stuff. So, um, with swimming, it gave me that because it's like it's an, it's an individual sport and you know you step up on those blocks and it's me against seven others and you know, if I'm constantly improving on my time and I've seen that progression, it, it's a lot easier for me as a kid to be like, oh, this, I can see I'm getting better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's uh, it's got to be weird, though, as a individual sport, to then compete as a team also.
Speaker 2:You get the best of both worlds in that sense, I guess, kind of like scratching that itch when you still are competing individually, it's on you when it matters from an individual standpoint, but then you can also compete as a team, win that gold. Like you know, our four by 100 men's relay team obviously our, our, all of our swimmers did really well this year. It was a phenomenal year. Um, I guess you talked about that era of swimming, michael phelps dominating, is it true?
Speaker 1:he has no world records now so no, I believe he's got no individual world records that's insane because didn't he hold like, yeah, he, he had quite a few.
Speaker 1:But again, it's's like you look at where swimming is going and we're progressing at like a rapid rate. Again, obviously, swimmers know this. A lot of people who don't have a great deal of knowledge in swimming will struggle to kind of wrap their head around this, but it's like there was a time between 2008 to 2010 where they had they called them the super suits, and it's pretty much like we, we compete now in in jammers, which is from hips to knees and, um, if you watch any swim competition from like the early two thousands all the way up to 2010, um, they're wearing full body, from the shoulders to the ankles or hips to the ankles, and um, um, you know, obviously suit material is faster than skin and the more skin you can cover up, the faster you're going to go. And and then there's the addition to.
Speaker 1:What caused them to ban these suits is, um, they're in simple terms, they're pretty much adding just rubber to like thin layers of rubber all over the suit, which obviously is increasing buoyancy, um, meaning, and and then there's also the compression and it's basically allowing these bigger athletes, power athletes and, I guess, technically non-real streamlined athletes to put on these suits and they're just like you know they're sucked up crazy, they're super streamlined, they're up buoyant in the water and it's like it kind of took away from the actual sport of swimming, where it was more about who's wearing the better suit. So in 2008, speedo came out with what they called the, the laser racer, and it was this full body suit and it had these panels. Um, they had two in their chest, one their stomach. Uh, quads, hammies, calves, and at the 2008 olympics they had broken 90 of the world record.
Speaker 1:I don't know the exact number but it was like they had gone in and that it was a significant stat that the athletes wearing that suit performed better than everyone else. And then companies took that and they're like, oh, they put those panels on their suit and it made these swimmers faster. What if we put those panels all over the suit? And then it's like then you just saw like a crazy drop in world records. And a lot of times you, you look at the world records now most of them are broken from that um era, but there are still some that are just like ridiculous, like the men's 400 freestyle was is like one of the world records. That is just like unreal, like the men's two free, men's four free and men's 50 free. It's like these events. You look at them and it's like there's a reason it hasn't been broken because that suit did so much. Um, so now it was like january 1st 2010. There's a band, no one else could wear them. Um, and like this, the sport is just progressing. So, getting to my point of like why phelps is, world records are probably broken.
Speaker 1:Um, he was one of the athletes where, when he was wearing the suit, he was a great athlete and as soon as he took it off, he was still a great athlete, meaning the suit didn't do as much of a difference to him as other athletes, so for him, that suit wasn't that big of a deal. Um, obviously it still helped. But the world records that aren't broken are those guys who, like that suit, pretty much made them who they were um. So, in terms of a level playing field, you know, his last world record individual world record I'm pretty sure was broken um in 2023, the men's 400 im and that took, you know, 13 years or something like that yeah, so that's still like when you think about that's a crazy stat yeah, you know so um, and then obviously then people compare it to like running and it's like you know, you have usain bolt and his world record still stand.
Speaker 1:It's like, obviously technology in in running is improving with the spikes and and all that stuff, but in terms of like arrow and all that stuff, we're still learning about that and how to be more efficient. So it's like, yeah, there are a lot more steps in swimming and it's, it's coming up also. I don't want to claim that I know all that, you know. This is just kind of like what we talked about no, that was great, dude, that was awesome.
Speaker 2:Like I just learned a ton. I didn't re. I know, having watched film, that those suits there I did not realize they got eliminated in 2010. Um, yeah, no, I, I, I imagine a Tony Stark suit in the water. It's going to help you perform better. Right Like um, if I have a little extra flotation, I'm going to probably swim faster, I think from my person. You brought up the running. It was a really good point because they were talking about how you know the numbers between when Usain Bolt ran compared to now, he's still got better numbers. You know a Ben Johnson? We've got athletes who put up numbers and they're really not getting that much faster, despite all the new training, all the new protocols ice bath, sauna, you name it. At a certain point, do you think we're maxing out as a human?
Speaker 1:species. Probably, we're probably getting to a certain point. I'm sure there's going to be um like a breakthrough period in running um, but like, yeah, swimming is still on this like upward trajectory where it's like, I guess, for example, in like even 2016 or 2012 at the olympic games in the junior. I am, um, sorry, going back in 2020, I was 17th in the junior and I am with a 158 2 um and in 2016 or 2012, but I've done that swim in the prelims of those events I would have been, you know, one of the top scenes going into semis. Um, obviously, there are, like in tokyo, prelims were at night and there's arguments that night swimming is faster than morning swimming. But you know, it's like we're progressing.
Speaker 1:Um, in 2008, beijing, where we did have these super suits ate, the seed was swum, like to get into the final was like two minutes and um the 8c, which I was at going into paris olympics, I'd swum a 157, 7, so it's like you know, we're two and a bit seconds quicker than we were back in 2008. It's like we're. That's quite a bit. Yeah, really, think over like 200 meters in swimming, that's like quite a bit of time. Yeah, um, and we're still progressing. I I feel like um the men's 100 free has gotten there where the depth is absolutely insane.
Speaker 1:And it's like I would say the level of top swimming. So like the fastest swimmers in the world, world records. They're obviously getting faster, but the rest of the world is catching up. Tune and I am you had um, my uh in 2008. You had michael phelps win it and 154 to last place, I think was like a 200 or 201 tune and I am this ground leon marchand was 154, zero, I was eighth, and a 157 too. So it's like the gap is getting. You know, we're catching up.
Speaker 1:The. The top level is kind of still there, but the rest of the field is catching up and we're becoming, as a swimming world, the events are becoming deeper. There's a lot higher level performers and, like, if you look at men's running as well, it's like you have the top of the top here and it's like the rest of the field is right down there. So it's like we're kind of catching up to that point. Will we get to a point where it kind of plateaus? Maybe, probably. I mean, if you look in a hundred years, unless our physique changes and we're now, like you know, being bred for certain sports then obviously we're going to keep improving, but it's like there's going to be a certain point where it plateaus off until something dramatically changes, whether it's technically training, wise equipment, so yeah, yeah, it's a.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like how Canadians used to dominate hockey and now it's. You know, the rest of the world's catching up to us. We're not, even though we're still drinking our Timmy's coffee. You know we're. We got some more work to do, you know. Uh, what's one thing that people don't know about? Finley Knox, um.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty shy, um I you've done a good job on this dude.
Speaker 2:You're crushing it.
Speaker 1:Um, I definitely have learned how to kind of break outside my shell, but I'm definitely a very independent individual person. Um, you know it's. I would say I'm definitely, um, you know, my social battery isn't that large and um, I think hence why the reason I'm a swimmer is I can kind of be in my own world and do that and, um, but, yeah, I, um, yeah, I would say for me it's like I'm pretty shy, but I love, uh love, trying new things, new sports, pushing myself, I love, uh love, trying new things, new sports, pushing myself, um, and I, I love spending time with family and and, um, you know, obviously the support group around that, and um, yeah, I, there's a lot of things I love. Um, as an athlete, I'm very critical, so I'm probably a little too critical, critical about a lot of things, but, um, just knowing that that's kind of who I am and um, trying to work, work on that is something cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's a superpower dude. I was chatting with my mom about it and I think there's certain people on this earth that are hypercritical of themselves. But that's how we get amazing individuals and that's how we have inspiring stories like this to be able to share. And, uh, it'll be cool to see what. What's next for Finley Knox? Uh, the way we wrap up every episode. As you know, we ask our guests their biggest piece of advice for the next generation of athletes. I always leave some space. There's any brands you want to shout out. I also think we didn't even touch on your parents maybe a little one or two minute segment, because I know you've shouted them out on socials, but just what it meant for them to be there for that. World championships for you. And then I'm going to grab my phone after because I have a couple other questions, but kick that off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'll. I'll start with the parents. I mean I've I literally couldn't have asked for better parents growing up. Um, I have two sides where my mom is a swimmer. She grew up swimming and was in sports. Um, she mainly was more of like a cross country um athlete, she kind of. She still swims, but she has that sport, that mental side. That is like me, where, very critical of myself, I know what I need to do to be better, even if I have a good result. I always find stuff that I can improve on um, so she understands me in that realm.
Speaker 1:And then my dad he didn't come from sports so he's just kind of long for the ride. He's like the amount, the amount of times. I always joke about this amount of times. I've had a race that just did not go well and he was like dude, that was the craziest race I've ever seen. Like that was awesome. And I'm just like you know, it's good having the both where it's like my mom understands, but my dad's just there to support Um and obviously they, they helped me tremendously and um I I honestly don't think I would be in the position I am today without them. So, um, super, super grateful to have those parents and um, I love them to death.
Speaker 2:Heck. Yeah, dude, I always like to ask. Sometimes I forget, but the uh, the parents are so important because you literally would not be here without them. Um, uh, one more before your biggest piece of advice, because we talked about how Canada crushed it this year in the pool, but one person in particular, summer McIntosh, who you mentioned earlier. Also, you mentioned someone who's you know sitting in a ready room, younger. Can you take me through what the heck she just did and how she was able to do it, as a someone who witnessed it firsthand?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean so back in 2020, that was like the first time I really got introduced to Summer. She joined the high performance center in Toronto and that's where I was training out of and I mean you just knew she was special. She had, just again, her mindset and her approach was better than most people and I mean again, with most high level swimmers. You, you know, they kind of have a gift for it. They the way they are in the water and the way they um, they move and how efficient they are. It's like you know, I think a lot of people who knew her before then knew she was going to do something special. But I'm pretty sure everyone, when they they train with summer or meet summer or like see her in the swimming world, you know she's, she's just that much better than than a lot of people. So it's incredible. I mean she has done an amazing job of um, obviously not only swimming in her sport, but she has matured incredibly, I mean. I mean I'm she's, I think 2006 and I'm a 2001. My younger brother's also born in 2006 and I'm not blasting him for this, but I've learned stuff from summer that like if you were to put my brother in that situation, he would have no idea what to do. Um, but you know, one thing that I take away is um, like summer, has learned so much and she's so level-headed with a lot of things.
Speaker 1:In 2023, at our world championship trials she broke the world record in the 400 im and the 400 freestyle. But then at the world championships she came fourth in the 400 freestyle and got her world record broken and you know, I believe she was maybe 16 or 17, so very, very young, and in an interview after, she was like it's just swimming. Like you know, I still got other events to go and, um, you know, just gotta refocus, resetting and go. This is the sport and like to hear that from like a 16 17 year old. Like you know, you would almost expect a 16 17 year old to be like. Just, you know, you, you would almost expect a 16, 17 year old to be like just absolutely lose it. You know they had just broken the world record. They're the best swimmer in the world and they at the world championships, where it's like that's kind of where the pressure's on and they don't meddle and they get the world record broken to just absolutely destroy them.
Speaker 1:But summer was just so level headed about it all and was like like, okay, that happened, we can move from it. What's next? Yeah, and learn from it too, and it's like I learned a lot about that, where it's literally just like it's just swimming, it's just a sport, like it doesn't define who I am, and I thought that was a really incredible thing and so I think that kind of what sets her apart from everyone else is like, even though she is young, she's as mature as some of the veterans on the team, um, and obviously the other thing is she not saying that, like, some of her strokes aren't that pretty but, like you know, a lot of swimming comes from technique and if you watch under the water, how she's catching her eye elbow, how she's sitting in the water, where her body position is, where her, you know, especially in fly, her hips are so high up and she's getting that high, like she is swimming so efficient under the water and all her movements are directed forward and a lot of times when you see people her age or athletes who aren't as good, you see a lot of movements not directed forward. You see some xf movements and and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:So she is, everything she's doing is very, very technically well in the swimming front. She obviously, she knows this and a lot of people know this. But, um, you know she's still got a little bit of room to work on the turns, her starts and all that stuff. But, um, you know, if she, if she, you know she's already broken world records. But if she can get that start down, the turns down and with her swimming, like she literally could be unstoppable for like obviously her mental still there and she still wants to do it for a very long time and she's again like she is one of the greatest athletes in swimming, that's kind of grace's planet and I feel like she'll be there for a while.
Speaker 2:Yeah it's crazy you mentioned her areas for improvement when she still came back with three gold medals. Yeah, it's mind-boggling. My cousin also, an 06 born, plays for the Giants here, but he's got a similar mindset and it's like you need that as a young athlete to be able to be the best. And for her what she was able to do. It's going to be cool to see to your point, canada Sw. For her, what she was able to do, it's going to be cool to see to your point. And, like Canada, swimming's in a really good spot. I mean, everyone was young. I feel like there weren't really a ton of vets out there. Was that interesting for you being?
Speaker 1:a vet, kind of being a second games.
Speaker 1:Swimming in Canada is weird because we're kind of viewed as this, like power nation in sports and especially in swimming.
Speaker 1:You know you obviously have like the U S, australia, the UK and like we're a big country but in terms of like the numbers in swimming we're actually very small.
Speaker 1:You know, it's like I again I don't know if these stats are correct, but it's, it's something similar to like we have the same number of registered competitive swimmers in all of canada as california or something like that wouldn't. So wouldn't surprise me. It's like you know, in retrospect we're being compared to these bigger countries when in terms of how many registered swimmers we have and all that stuff it's like and the resources we have, we should really only be compared to some of the smaller countries. But we do an incredible job of of building off of that and um, for a while we've, because we don't have as much depth as, say, the us. We typically find athletes when they get on the national team at like 17 18. They're usually there till they retire, whereas in the us there's the. The national team is constantly updating and changing because, it's like you know, top three at olympic trials would win top three at the olympics.
Speaker 1:So, um, I I believe we're now in that phase of, like all the athletes who made the national team when they were like 17, 18, and kind of progressed all the way up to like 29, 28 they've kind of retired. And now it's this new wave of athletes who are young, fresh, ready to go and, um, being 23, it's like on the us national team, I would be set right in the middle. Um, I'm not obviously a rookie, but you know, there are people with a lot more experience, a lot more medals, a lot more performances under their belt, whereas, being canada, I'm now kind of viewed as one of these veterans because you've been to two Olympic Games.
Speaker 1:It's a little weird, but obviously understanding. That's kind of where we are in swimming and in Canada, and knowing that that's okay and for me, I know how important experiences are to perform well and trying to do my best to have these rookies or people who have never competed on the stage, have these rookies or people who have never competed on the stage like, teach them as much as they can or teach them the things I wish I knew, um, and hopefully help them to be a better athlete, cause, at the end of the day, um, as good as you know, summer was, or Josh was, or I am, we are viewed as a nation and it's like we need to do our best to keep the level of swimming rising in Canada and, um, and that's kind of our, our side hand job is helping everyone kind of rise to our level and show them the way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's a shout out to our national sporting organizations. Provincial sporting organizations keep doing that, keep spending money on our athletes. They keep crushing it on a world stage. Um, you know, how was the flip phone that you got?
Speaker 1:oh, that's pretty cool, was it? Yeah, I mean as a, I guess you could call it like an apple fanboy yeah, it's like I wasn't ever going to use it, but um, it was pretty neat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the flip phone obviously the olympics are sponsored by samsung, so in tokyo we got one of the samsung phones there with the olympic rings on the back this go around. We got the flip phones there with the Olympic rings on the back this go around. We got the flip phone, the Olympic rings on the back and it's pretty cool. And obviously the technology in that is is um is turned from more of like a gimmicky thing to like a real life thing, which was really cool. And um, I mean, it's a. Some of the perks you get as Olympian is pretty cool and and to get your hands on one of those things it was, it was neat.
Speaker 2:Dude, that Lulu kit was pretty legit. You guys, you guys got hooked up, yeah.
Speaker 1:We, um, we got very lucky when we signed with Lululemon. Um, not saying that our previous sponsors weren't as good, but you know, Lululemon is pretty much a premium athletic brand and, um, I mean, pants are Lulu, the shirt are Luluulu oh, look at that.
Speaker 2:He's working for the lulu sponsorship here.
Speaker 1:No free ads, folks um, so, yeah, we um to to get sponsored or like have team canada sponsored by lululemon. Not only are we looking pretty sweet in the village, but we're comfortable doing it and, um, I mean, it's awesome having all stuff. I would have liked it if we had a little bit more of like less branded, like more casual, yeah, stuff that I could wear in public.
Speaker 2:But you don't. You don't want that dress, that lace floral red. You're not rocking that on your Saturday night in the village. That's sweet, but on the at the Roxy.
Speaker 1:Maybe not Exactly so, but no, we got super, super lucky and a lot of um countries are definitely a little jealous of us but, um, that was really cool to have have a, you know, a Canadian company that is like worldwide known, help us out and and kit us up was a pretty special thing.
Speaker 2:Heck yeah, I couldn't get over there. Okay, last question before a biggest piece of advice uh, your swim cap you have to actually like. I saw a video of you like putting a roller on it like exacto knifing. You have to adjust it. Is that based on, like ear height, size of your melon? What's going on there?
Speaker 1:So as of right now. I don't know anyone who ever does that. Oh, um, speedo came out with this cap. It's the bullet cap and it's like this you know, in swimming there's a regular silicone cap and then there's dome caps, which are pretty much what you wear for racing. In previous years they've been quite thick and structured and now they're coming with these like softer dome caps, a little bit more comfortable, um kind of where they're training towards.
Speaker 1:But um, speedo only makes one size and I unfortunately have a pretty small head. So I really love the look of those caps and the feel of them, but they just don't fit my head. I I am very particular with how caps fit. I don't like them coming over my ears or low on my forehead. I want it sat on nicely. I want to have my ears exposed so I can hear the start, and that's how I'm comfortable. Um, arena has amazing caps and they have multiple sizes, which is you know what you kind of expect. But you know this is this is kind of what we're giving with speedo and being um, I'm not sponsored by speedo but we, as swim canada, have a sponsorship and tie partner with speedo. We get given Speedo caps and we have to wear these caps at the World Championships, commonwealth Games, olympic Games and if I'm going to wear a race cap, it's going to be one of them, and for me I have to cut maybe a centimeter off the base of the cap.
Speaker 1:And because I'm cutting a centimeter off, it loses its tightness. The cap is thinner at the very top of the cap and it gets'm cutting a centimeter off it's it loses its tight. The cap is thinner at the very top of the the cap and it gets thicker as it goes down, so I'm losing some thickness so I have to double cap up. It's a little frustrating. They don't usually recommend that. No, literally I wouldn't tell anyone to cut their caps, but I tried it once and it worked out and that's kind of what I've been doing for the last like three years. Um, but if speedo can make multiple sizes in those bullet caps, that would save me a lot of hassle and I know a lot of other people would start wearing them because, you know, not everyone's head is the same size. Obviously you got, yeah, guys who have short hair and then the girls with the buns and stuff the flow. So speedo is uh, speedo, step it up step it up.
Speaker 2:That's all I'm going to say. Uh hey yo listen, I think what you just did there was perfect. And uh yo kudos to you. Man for a shy guy. You were very articulate. Um, I, I'm impressed. I'm excited to see how you perform these next four years. La has got to be exciting too. It's got to be on your mind in the back of there. Being like this is what I got hamburger olympics, repeat yeah, I mean, of course it's.
Speaker 1:It's us home games and obviously canadian we're not us athletes, but it's close enough where, um, I'm sure canadians will get a lot of support in the stands and it also allows canadians to come watch. It's a little bit easier. The trek over to tokyo or to paris is just not feasible for some people and um, to have it's a semi-home games for us the same continent um, so, yeah, I'm looking forward to.
Speaker 1:Obviously, it is four years away and, um, you know, so many things can change within one year, let alone four. So, um, as long as I'm still in the right mental state to swim, well, yeah that fly's just been.
Speaker 2:It's feeling you um snipe.
Speaker 1:Look at those skills um, but uh, yeah, so it would be pretty cool, um, and I just hope that I'm a physically in the right spot, mentally right in the right spot and and, um, fast enough, where I I can represent Canada once again at another Olympic games and and hopefully, progress from where I was in Paris.
Speaker 2:Dude, I have no doubt you will. Uh, it's going to be fun watching you here. While while I'm in Vancouver, I'll come out watch some Thunderbird events. Uh, make sure it can West and uh, and use sports at least for sure, cause I know he'll be there. Um biggest piece of advice for the next gen. As we wrap up here, man, thanks for coming on the show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, thank you for having me. Biggest piece of advice, um, especially for young kids, is be patient and have fun. Um, I had a lot of success when I was like 10, 11,. I didn't grow until I was about 16. So I had pretty much zero, you know, feasible results as a 12, 13, 14 year old. Um, barely was winning medals or competing. But the one thing my parents always told me was be patient. And obviously the reason I'm doing this sport is because I love it and I'm having fun, and those are some things that I always kind of stick with. Nowadays is, you know, your time will come. If you're, if you're patient and you're doing the right work and you keep pushing yourself, your time will eventually come, and you shouldn't be doing it unless you're having fun and you're putting a smile on your face. So, um, swimming is just a sport at the end of the day. It's not that serious and um, go out there, have fun, be patient and, um, enjoy what you're doing so.
Speaker 2:Reminder to be a fun guy from Finley Knox. Uh, thanks for coming on the show man, appreciate it. It was dope. Hey, just want to say thank you, folks for tuning into this show. Thank you to Finley for coming on perfect sports for sponsoring this show on a weekly basis and for allowing us to continue to travel the globe highlighting some of the best athletes in the world. Today it was Finley Knox in Vancouver. I hope you folks enjoyed. Don't forget about our athlete agreement where you know you got to subscribe for consuming our content and it means a lot because we're going to continue being able to do this for the next 10, 20, 30 years. So thanks for tuning in. I hope you enjoy. We'll see you next week for another new episode. Bye.
