Speedo has today signed Paralympic star and five-time US national champion Jamal Hill as its latest athlete ambassador, as he bids to reach his first Paralympic Games this summer.
Jamal is the co-founder of Swim UP Hill, a US charity which teaches water safety skills to underrepresented communities around the globe. As part of the initiative, Jamal is aiming to teach one million people to swim.
Aged 10, Jamal was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological condition which affects the motor function in his arms and legs. He took up swimming as a baby after encouragement from his parents.
Since then, Jamal has been a three-time medallist at the 2019 Para Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru (50m freestyle, silver; 4x100m medley relay, bronze; 4x100m freestyle relay, bronze). He swims in the S10, SB9, and SM10 classifications and is now working to quality for the Paralympics while teaching people to swim as part of Swim UP Hill’s curriculum.
On signing with Speedo, Jamal says: “Speedo is the iconic name in swimming and to partner with them and share a platform to encourage and inspire others is a dream relationship. My work with Swim UP Hill is the reason I get out of bed every morning and to have the support of a brand like Speedo is incredible for us – Los Angeles is my hometown and I’m passionate about helping more people to swim.”
Sean Kavanagh, Global Director of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship at Speedo, says: “As part of our latest brand campaign, we are spotlighting swimmers who ‘make waves’ in the sport and there is no doubting that Jamal has done that already in his career so far – we want to support him and help him to continue the excellent work he does both in and out of the pool and will be there to assist in many ways through the next phase of his career.”
Jamal joins an exciting list of American Team Speedo swimmers ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer including Caeleb Dressel, Kathleen Baker, Ryan Murphy, Abbey Weitzeil, Cody Miller, Kevin Cordes, Nathan Adrian, Hali Flickinger and Becca Meyers.
For more on Swim UP Hill, visit www.SwimUpHill.com or follow Jamal on Instagram and Twitter via the handle @SwimUpHill.
