Cullen Jones and Ryan Lochte are two of the biggest names in professional swimming and they are two of the sport’s most passionate advocates.
Jones is a two-time Olympic gold medalist who has participated in two Olympics as a freestyle swimmer. Lochte is a five-time Olympic gold medalist who has also captured the imagination of American pop culture to a large degree (how many other people can boast that they earned NPR’s honor for being the ideal American “bro”).
The two took some time to help put together a video for kids explaining why they chose to pursue swimming at a young age (after all, as someone who wasn’t fond of competitive swimming growing up, the water is freezing and it requires one to get up at the crack of dawn). In between the soothing PBS-like music, the two Olympians share similar stories of what motivated them to swim – the camaraderie, the competition and the drive to improve one’s self.
In that sense, swimming isn’t that different from other team sports when it comes to building relationships. However, unlike a lot of other sports, you also get to play around in the water so… advantage swimming.
About Ryan Wong