“You have the power to change you.” – Jamal Hill
L.A. based hometown hero Jamal Hill started swimming in mommy and me swim lessons and fell in love with the sport almost instantly. However, after swimming consistently throughout elementary school, Jamal was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndromex, a genetic disease affecting his extremities and causing him to be partially paralyzed for years.
Jamal began swimming again in high school and throughout college, but it wasn’t until age 23 that he let go of the shame he carried over his diagnosis and embraced all that his body could do, setting his sights on the Paralympic Games in Tokyo next year, 2020.
Watch the short doc produced and directed by John Duarte and hear Jamal tell his incredible, inspiring story in his own words.
Swim Up Hill – A short doc on US Paralympic Swimmer, Jamal Hill from John Duarte on Vimeo.
Jamal is a shining example of what the growth mindset looks like in action, and should remind us all just how much we are capable of when we work with persistent, consistent, quality effort, recognizing our weaknesses and applying the necessary change to grow.
Learn more here about our coaching philosophy using the growth mindset.
Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.