ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — After earning four Olympic gold medals, Ryan Murphy is a swimming star for Team USA. Now, the Ponte Vedra Beach native is turning that glory into purpose, bringing a Goldfish Swim School location to St. Johns County next spring.
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According to St. Johns Fire & Rescue, there have been 486 calls for assistance related to swimmers in distress this year, while Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue says they’ve performed over 300 water rescues to this point, making the need for swim training important as can be in Northeast Florida.
“After I won gold in 2016, a big focus for me became, how do I give back to the sport, how do I give back to the communities that have served me so well,” Murphy told Action News Jax in an interview. “It’s absolutely imperative for parents to get their children in the water at a young age, comfortable in the water, so hopefully, tragedy can be avoided.”
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Furthermore, according to a study from the National Institute of Health, which researched drowning risks in kids ages one through four years old, some type of formal swim training can decrease the risk of drowning by up to 88%.
Murphy says it’s an issue that can be addressed even at a young age.
“Even at that earliest age group … there’s skills being learned,” said Murphy.
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While the school hopes to improve water safety in the community, Murphy also says he’s eager to possibly give Northeast Florida its next Olympic gold medalist.
“I’ll try to help them out in any way I can to help them get to the Olympic level,” Murphy said with a smile.
More information on the classes can be found by clicking here, while more information and statistics about water safety can be found by clicking here.
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