PLAY TELEVISION CAMERON’S POOL OF WISDOM

McAvoy, already been dubbed “The Professor” for his academic excellence, has his life after the pool all mapped out.

The champion swimmer, ranked No. 1 in the world in 100m freestyle, is studying a Bachelor of Science majoring in physics and mathematics.

When McEvoy finally retires from swimming he has plans to work with the team at the CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland or America’s NASA space agency.

“It is very important to have a plan for the future,” McEvoy says. “Any time you are totally devoted to something that has a life expectancy, history shows it is not the best. The main thing is having something to move on to.

“I’m equally passionate about physics and swimming. By the time retirement ( from swimming) comes around I’ll be in a position where I can do a PhD or post doctorate.”

It is McEvoy’s physics prowess that sees him join forces with Todd Sampson for Life on the Line. Sampson explores the concept of resistance with a stunt that sees him standing in front of an AK- 47 assault rifle which is fired while submerged in water. It is up to McEvoy to do the calculation that determines how close Sampson can stand to the weapon and not be hurt. In air, a bullet from an AK- 47 can travel 2km but because water is almost 1000 times denser than air, physics says the bullet should travel no more than 2m in a pool.

“When I first heard what Todd was going to do I thought it sounded pretty crazy,” McEvoy says. “I had faith the physics could be trusted and professors double and triple checked my calculations. The moment where he was counting down to the gunshot was nerve- racking, though, no matter how much faith you have in the law of physics.”