HAWKINS Callum

General
HEAT CONDITIONING
He said his previous experiences of competing in hot conditions will help him at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, with the marathon moved to Sapporo due to the potential heat. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, he collapsed from exhaustion two kilometres from the finish line and was taken to hospital. "It was a bit of circumstances and my own fault. I don't remember too much after I fell over the first time but I've learnt a lot. It is a big learning curve for what Sapporo could possibly be because it can still be quite hot there." To prepare for the conditions he has created a makeshift heat chamber at his parents' home. "My parents built a pretty substantial shed with a treadmill, a bike and some weights. Before Doha [2019 World Championships] I bought a couple of outdoor heaters from a supermarket and used it as a makeshift heat chamber. It's obviously not as scientific as the real thing but it definitely helped and it's been useful ahead of the Olympics." (tokyo2020.com, 03 Feb 2021; teamgb.com, 30 Jun 2020)

CHAMPIONSHIP RACER
He says he performs better when competing for titles rather than racing time trials. "I'm probably more suited to a championship race than a straight-up time trial when you compare it to the world's best. I think, apart from the Gold Coast [Commonwealth Games], I am pretty good at reading my own body and how to get the best out of myself and for some reason championship races are anyone's game." (tokyo2020.com, 03 Feb 2021)

MARATHON BROTHERS
He made his marathon debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Marathon in Germany. His brother Derek also ran in the race. The brothers also run a coaching service called Hawkins Running, which they created in 2015. He is hoping that his brother, with whom he lives and trains, will also qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I'd love him to be there. We were both selected for Rio in 2016 but at that time he had a real struggle with injury in the last few months and it was all about just making the start-line. It would be a nice achievement for two brothers to make it twice to the Olympics in the marathon." (bbc.com, 25 Oct 2015; Hawkins Running, 05 Jan 2016; scottishrunningguide.com, 04 May 2015; glasgowtimes.co.uk, 19 Dec 2019; tokyo2020.com, 03 Feb 2021)

STUDYING ABROAD
He studied at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, United States of America from 2010 to 2012 before enrolling at the University of the West of Scotland. (Facebook profile, 21 Jun 2014; uws.ac.uk, 10 Feb 2016)