Road to Paris 2024: 25-Year-Old Software Engineer To Represent Home Country at the Summer Olympics

“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts,” was once said by one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Dan Gable. This embodies the ethos required to pursue the ultimate stage in sports: the Olympics. Athletes commit themselves to rigorous training regimens, sacrificing personal comforts, and pushing their bodies to the limit.

As the Paris 2024 Olympics draw near, one such swimmer is making a splash as he not only juggles a job but also diligently prepares for the forthcoming games, aspiring to seize gold for his nation.

25-year-old swimmer and software engineer gears up for Paris Olympics

In a YouTube video titled “My daily routine training for the Olympics as a software engineer,” Marcos Rico Peng, a talented swimmer from Madrid, Spain, shares his daily schedule at the US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Marcos takes his 120K subscribers on a journey starting at 7:30 AM at the Training Center, preparing for the Spanish Olympic trials in 90 days.

Against the snowy backdrop of Colorado, he shares breakfast with four-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy and Brooks Curry, the 2021 Olympic gold medalist in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, before heading to his 9:00 AM training session. After an hour and a half of light aerobic work and drills, he returns to his room to work as a full-time software engineer.

Following an hour of work, he has lunch at noon, enjoying a healthy meal tailored for athletes to aid muscle recovery. Despite admitting that balancing a full-time job with professional-level swimming training isn’t easy, he expresses unwavering commitment, stating, “I wouldn’t change this for anything.” His day progresses with an intense workout at the gym, followed by another swimming session at 5 p.m.

Dinner at 7 p.m. precedes his return to his room, where he continues working while using compression therapy for 30 minutes. Working until 11 PM, he then journals before bed, aiming to improve incrementally each day, stating, “Tomorrow, when I do this again, I’m just a bit better than what I was yesterday.” Reflecting on the dedication required to train for the Paris 2024 Olympics, let’s acknowledge Marcos Rico Peng’s achievements.

The journey of Marcos Rico Peng

Marcos Rico Peng competed on the men’s swimming and diving team at the University of California, Berkeley. Notable achievements include winning a Pac-12 title in 2022 in the 200-meter free relay and setting a Pac-12 Championships record in the process. He consistently performed well in both team and individual events, contributing to his team’s success in the NCAA and Pac-12 championships.

Marcos pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley College of Engineering, graduating in 2022. Currently working as a software engineer in the New York City Metropolitan Area, he balances a demanding career with his athletic pursuits. As he paves his path to the Paris 2024 Olympics and aims for the pinnacle stage, fans of the 25-year-old hope to see him fulfill his dream and achieve gold.

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