The Sport That Saves Lives – Teaching Hoosiers the Importance of Swimming During the Olympic Trials

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INDIANAPOLIS — The United States Olympic Swimming trials in downtown Indianapolis are not just about the sport, but it’s also about changing lives.

Part of the reason Indiana fought to host the swimming trials in Lucas Oil Stadium is to bring awareness to the issue of drowning, says Sarah Myer, Chief Marketing Director of Indiana Sports Corp and Co-Director for Olympic trials. She says drowning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths for children 14 and younger, and hosting the swim trials could be an opportunity to teach someone a technique that could save their life.

“Swimming is the only sport that can save your life, and we really took that seriously when we won this event. (We asked) how we can leave a lasting impact on the sport of swimming and water safety,” Myer tells WIBC’s First Day program.

Myer says the state of Indiana has created an initiative called “Swim in Safety”, which aims to teach 50,000 people how to swim by the end of 2024.

“I say ‘people’ because this is not just a youth problem. There are so many adults that don’t know how to swim,” Myer explains.

She says one of the other issues facing Hoosiers and people across the country is access to quality swimming pools and teachers.

Myer says this is especially challenging for people of color, “for years, people of color did not have access to water. I think that’s also something we’ve been learning a lot about the history here in the state of Indiana. How can we help remedy that? How can we make sure that more people have access, and more people can learn these life-saving skills?”

The US Olympic Swimming Trials kick off Saturday, June 15th and last through Sunday, June 23rd.

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