Cody Wilkins

Hometown and Current residence:  Born and currently live in Joplin, MO area.  But I have temporarily lived in several places in the US for summer jobs/ internships

Family and Occupation: I have a girlfriend.  I am an only child,  and both of my parents are in their 50’s.  I am a construction engineer/project manager for Missouri Dept. of Transportation (MoDOT).

Swimming background: I mostly swam in backyard pools when I was younger or the occasional municipal pool.  In high school and college I took water survival training once or twice a year with ROTC programs.  My first triathlon was a reverse tri (run, bike, swim), and the swimming was a disaster.  I wanted to get better at swimming and so I joined masters in May of 2019.

Favorite event/race:  I just had my first swim event so I can’t really say a whole lot here, but I did like the 1500m swim.  It pushed me to swim farther and faster for longer than I thought I could when I started swimming 3 months ago.

Swimming hero: (Sorry Coach Megan) I don’t really have one.  I only watch swimming during the Olympics, so I have never really followed the sport that much.

Swimming goals:  To get faster, obviously!  Also to learn to do the breast and butterfly strokes decently enough to compete.

Advice to new masters swimmers: Masters is simply another (and cooler sounding) name for club.  Join and you will be surprised what you can do when you push yourself. Yeah, there are people waaay better than you, but they were once in the beginner lane as well, learning and struggling to even get a single lap in.  It just takes time and practice. 

Hobbies:  I live on a small hobby farm so I am always taking care of something.  I picked up running in 2018 and enjoy running 5Ks and similar events.  I am an amateur triathlete, training and competing with Rufus Racing.  I also play semi-pro arena style football; I am on 2 different bowling leagues and I enjoy reading and 3D metal models.  So if I am not at work, I am still working or training for another sport on the road, trail or in the gym.

Favorite drills:  Targets for speed and catch-up drills for form.

Where do you currently swim?. MC SOAKers Masters Swim Club in Joplin, MO in either MSSU indoor 25m or Millennium Fitness outdoor 25yd pool.