MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Olympic gold-medalist Cullen Jones was 'Making a Splash' in the Mid-South Wednesday, promoting swimming lessons and water safety for all children.
He was at the Bickford Aquatics Center in north Memphis teaching kids about the importance of swimming.
According to a national study, 60 to 70 percent of Blacks and Latinos don't know how to swim.
The study also found that Black and Latino children are more likely to drown than white children. It's a chilling statistic and for Jones, it hits home.
“I was almost a statistic. I was five years old and I went down an amusement park ride fully supervised with my parents, life guards there, and I almost drowned - so it's definitely a silent killer,” Jones said.
That prompted Jones to take swimming classes. Now he's the first black man to set an Olympic world record. He also boasts four Olympic medals.
