Cullen Jones, a member of the winning Olympic USA 4×100-meter freestyle team in Beijing and the first African-American to hold a world long-course record, is on a mission to promote life-saving swimming programs throughout the country, according to SwimNews.com. He is joining the USA Swimming Foundation and Conoco Phillips to bring awareness to the fact that African-American children drown at a rate almost three times higher than White children in similar age groups.
Jones, who admits he learned how to swim because he almost drowned when he was 5 years old, is trying to change drowning statistics for Black children. He will travel the country speaking about the availability of low-cost or free swimming lessons in Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Kansas City, Denver and Los Angeles as well as increasing funding for programs that support swimming education.—WLW