While studying in the United States, Kalmikovs achieved a sixth-fastest of all time in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 2000 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.

[3][4] While swimming for the Cornhuskers, Kalmikovs received a total of nine All-American honors, captured three Big 12 Conference titles, and held four school records in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke.

[5] At the 2000 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, during his junior year, Kalmikovs posted a sixth-fastest time of 2:10.64 in the 200-yard breaststroke, where Ed Moses set a new world record.

[6] In his senior season, Kalmikovs served as an assistant volunteer coach for the team before he graduated from the University in 2001 with a bachelor of arts degree in international affairs.

[9] At the 1998 FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia, Kalmikovs placed twenty-second in the 200 m breaststroke (2:21.22), and thirty-eighth in the 200 m individual medley (2:10.28), all from the prelims.

Swimming in heat four, he enjoyed a sprint finish with Puerto Rico's Arsenio López, as they both hit the wall first in a matching time of 1:04.02.

[15][16] Three days later, in the 200 m breaststroke, Kalmikovs established a new Latvian record of 2:16.21 to pull off a nineteenth-place effort from the heats, but missed the semifinal cut by more than half a second (0.50).

He completed his master's degree in sports management and athletic administration at Valparaiso University in 2003, and later moved to California to coach numerous age group swimmers for Bakersfield Swim Club.