Felicity Galvez, who won two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and smashed a number of world swimming records, has opened a north Canberra fitness facility, the realisation of her five-year dream.
Galvez has opened Galvanized Fitness, a bespoke fitness studio in Watson that will cater to all fitness levels and age groups.
After retiring from competitive swimming in 2010, Ms Galvez joined the AIS nutrition department and married former swimmer Adrian Lemke.
She gave birth to her first daughter in 2012, then started studying personal training while juggling a job and raising two daughters.
“Since retiring as an elite swimmer, my passion now lies in helping people achieve their own fitness goals in a realistic and fun way,” she says.
“This is more than just a gym. I want it to be a fitness experience that keeps people coming back.”
The studio offers small fitness classes for a maximum of 20 people which include boot camp, boxing, functional training sessions, mums and bubs, and one-on-one personal training.
The star of her studio is a Queenax circuit training system; which replicates regular movements such as pulling, pushing, climbing and lifting.
Galvez has run casual fitness sessions for the past three years, and says she is ready to take the next step in her career.
“I love training people and seeing them walk out feeling they have accomplished something they thought they couldn’t accomplish on their own.
“My passion is now seeing other people succeed. It can be encouraging someone to do a box jump with two feet or hearing how an older client has reversed their osteoporosis,” she says.
Felicity spent her childhood in Spain and started swimming aged 11 when she joined her older sister who was encouraged to swim to help her asthma.
In 2000, aged 15, she competed at her first Olympics in Sydney, going on to compete at the Athens and Beijing Games, where she triumphed with two gold medals.
Her illustrious career also saw her break three short course world records and win gold and silver Commonwealth Games medals.
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