Olympian Elizabeth Beisel chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about the 2021 “Make a Splash Virtual Tour.”
The “Make a Splash Virtual Tour” is presented by Phillips 66 and this marks the 48th year of their collaboration to prioritize swimming lessons for children and to educate parents about drowning prevention. “It has been great,” she said. “It is still very important to learn how to swim, it’s the only lifesaving skill, and the only sport that can save your life especially with the warmer weather coming just around the cover.”
The virtual tour will continue through May 15 in a series of print and digital ads, interviews in local and national media outlets, as well as on the social media channels for USA Swimming and USA Swimming Foundation. “May is ‘Learn to Swim Month’ and May 15 is ‘Learn to Swim Day.’ 10 people drown each day in the United States, 25 percent of them are children. Swimming lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent. So, there is a cure to drowning and that’s swimming lessons,” she said.
“The water doesn’t discriminate against anybody, it doesn’t matter what your age is. Everyone should get in the pool and learn how to swim especially as we get closer to the summer months where we will be around bodies of water. It is important to note that no Olympian ever started swimming to become an Olympian. They started swimming to learn how to swim and have that lifesaving skill. Confidence is built in the water,” she elaborated.
The tour is designed to educate the public about the importance of this lifesaving skill. As Americans adjust to post-pandemic life this summer, it is critically important to reeducate children on safety fundamentals while near pools and other open waters.
The USA Swimming Foundation has collaborated with Phillips 66 for nearly 50 years to promote swim safety and education. Drowning claims the lives of approximately 3,500 people per year, with nearly a quarter of these losses being children under the age of 14.
Formal swimming lessons can reduce that risk for children by 88 percent. With the summer months upon us, enrolling children in swim lessons should be a top priority as children and families head back to the water.
USA Swimming and the USA Swimming Foundation are committed to making sure every child has the opportunity to learn how to swim.
Beisel also serves as International Swim Ambassador of the SPIRE Institute and Academy, along with fellow swimmers Ryan Lochte and Caeleb Dressel. “SPIRE is great. It is one thing I wish I had growing up in the sport since it’s so immersive,” she said. “I am grateful to be an ambassador along with Caeleb, Ryan, and Tianna [Bartoletta].”
On life during the quarantine, she said, “I have been doing well. I am trying to stay as busy as possible, everyone has their own ups and downs. I’ve gotten to spend more time with my family and my boyfriend, Jack. I am definitely ready to get back to normal. I get my second vaccination shot next week so I am really excited about that. Then, I go to the Olympic Trials and Tokyo this summer.”
Her book Silver Lining is available on Amazon. “The book was released a month before the Coronavirus pandemic, but I still think it was a huge success. I have gotten so much great feedback on it,” she said. “It was about inspiring people and humanizing being an Olympian and what it takes.”
For Beisel, competing on the reality series Survivor was a “great experience.”
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said, “Saying ‘Yes’ to everything.”
She shared that the greatest lesson that swimming has ever taught her was perseverance. “The amount of ups and downs that swimmers go through in their lives really instills a sense of grit, tenacity and perseverance,” she said.
Beisel defined the word success as contentment in life. “Success is determined by you, not anybody else,” she said. “I am most successful in whatever I am doing when I am happy and when I feel I have a purpose.”
To learn more about USA Swimming and “Make a Splash,” check out their official website.
