Cullen Jones Swims for Safety
Cullen Jones Swims for Safety
Cullen Jones is the first African American to hold a world record in swimming…and he’s not about to sit by and watch as children across the country drown. Motivated by the fact that 57% of African American and Hispanic kids can’t swim and are drowning at disproportionate rates, Jones has partnered with ConocoPhillips and the USA Swimming Foundation for “Make a Splash” with Cullen Jones, a national water safety campaign that kicks off in Houston May 20th.
Jones plans on schooling parents and kids about low-to-no-cost swim lessons in communities across the country while promoting an on-line giving program to help fund swim lessons for kids in need. “I didn’t learn how to swim to become an Olympic champion,” said Jones. “I learned how to swim, because when I was five years old, I almost drowned. Every summer these tragedies happen and we talk about how they could have been prevented; yet every year the statistics remain the same. I am committed to a real solution.”
In addition to Houston, Jones will visit Indianapolis, Seattle, Kansas City, Denver and Los Angeles…Make a Splash, the national, child-focused water safety initiative of the USA Swimming Foundation, began in 2007. In two years, more than 37,000 kids have gone through Make a Splash swimming lessons. For more information, or to donate or sponsor a swim lesson for a child in need, go to www.makeasplash.org.
About Cullen Jones: Cullen Jones is one of the fastest freestyle sprinters in the world today. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he was a member of the electrifying 400m freestyle relay team that broke the world record and won Olympic gold in one of the most memorable races in history. With the victory, Cullen became the second African-American to win Olympic swimming gold. As a member of the 2008-2009 U.S. National Team, Cullen is currently training for the 2009 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships, which is the qualifying meet for the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. He trains under Coach David Marsh at SwimMAC in Charlotte, North Carolina….and he’s hot.
As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com
