CBS NEWS – At 5 years old, Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones got stuck underwater after going down a ride at a water park with his parents.
After being underwater for almost 40 seconds, young Jones had to be resuscitated by a lifeguard.
“I was traumatized. I didn’t realize it that day … but the next time I was by a pool, my mom noticed that I was a little more timid, and it took five different teachers before I started feeling comfortable to actually start putting my face underwater, floating and starting to actually do the forward progression in the water,” he said.
Fast forward to the 2008 Olympics, where Jones won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, becoming the first African American to hold a world record in swimming. In 2012, he brought home even more swimming medals.
Now, an ambassador with pool supplies retailer Leslie’s, Jones works to make sure other young people don’t experience what he did as a kid.
Here are his top tips:
Learn to swim: Learning to swim benefits both kids and adults, Jones said.
“If there is one parent in the family that knows how to swim, there’s an 88% chance that that child will learn to swim. And not to mention, you give that child an 88% more of a chance to be safer around the water,” he said.
“I don’t care how old you are, how young you are, the pool is for you. Please come out. Go be safer around the water. It doesn’t matter your age. It’s a life skill we need to prioritize at any age.”
Red Cross swimming courses are one of many programs that teach children to swim across the U.S.
But Jones recognizes there are “a lot of families out there that can’t afford to have formal swim lessons,” noting Leslie’s has teamed up with the Boys and Girls Club and Red Cross to raise money to help other people learn to swim. The fundraising efforts continue through Oct. 31 both online and in stores across the country.
Check for clean water: Just because it’s clear and blue, does not mean it’s clean, Jones said.
“Take it from someone who spends a lot of time in water, that is not the case. You want to make sure that your pool water is safe and healthy,” he said …
