Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Olympic Swimmer Teaches Life Saving Lessons at Turkey Thicket

Olympic gold medal swimmer and current men's 50-meter USA record holder, Cullen Jones, was at Turkey Thicket Rec Center today providing a potentially life saving lesson to local youths.  Jones, teamed with the Make A Splash Foundation, are taking a grass-roots approach to decrease the number of drownings in urban areas across the nation.  The program teaches local youths the fundamentals of swimming, as well as provides essential education to parents on the essentials of safe water play.  This all comes less than a month after the drowning of a local youth at Turkey Thicket...a subject all too close to Cullen.  At age 5, while playing in a city pool, Cullen nearly drown himself.  After this shocking moment, his mother enrolled him in a similar program and his love for the water began. 
The event has gotten a lot of media coverage, both locally and nationally, and has showcased one of the cities most modern recreation and swimming centers right in our own backyard.

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