Team Speedo star Ryan Lochte
Team Speedo star and 11-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte was in Kansas City, Mo. the final weekend in March to help host the first annual “Float for Hope” swim clinic at the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District Aquatic Center.
Co-sponsored by Speedo and the Kansas City Swim Academy, proceeds from the fundraising clinic benefitted the Lee’s Summit Aquatic Center “Float for Hope” program, which helps provide swimming lessons for children in families dealing with financial hardships.
During the full day clinic, Lochte presented three two-hour sessions, featuring swimming and drills in the water and a question-and-answer session, and took photos with the hundreds of excited kids in attendance. After demonstrating and working with the kids on some of his favorite drills for each stroke, he even jumped in the pool for a few 50m fly and 50m backstroke “races” against some of the local swimmers.
Ryan Lochte meets Ryan Lochte
“I used to be one of those kids,” said Lochte, who talked to the young swimmers about being committed to the sport and working hard for the success. “As a kid, I remember seeing Olympians come to the pool and being so excited and motivated just getting to be around them. It shaped me as an aspiring pro athlete, and now I want to teach these kids the same– that if they set their mind to it, they can accomplish anything.”
Lochte sported his “signature” shade of green throughout the event, decked out in Speedo’s Color Stroke Brief, Retroactive Silicone Cap and Varsity Silicone Cap – all in green.
The Lee’s Summit Aquatic Center is home to the Speedo-sponsored Kanas City Swim Academy swim team and various instructional programs, including the new Infant Aquatics course that teaches floatation skills and swim safety; its charitable organization has helped hundreds of children learn essential swimming and water-safety skills since its inception in 2009, a mission that Lochte and Speedo are proud to help support.
The world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo is passionate about life in and around the water, creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations, and supporting swimming from the grassroots to the elite level, including the phenomenal Michael Phelps. In the 1920’s Speedo made history with the Racerback, the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008, Speedo redefined swimwear again with Fastskin LZR RACER, one of the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuits ever created; 2011 saw Speedo unveil another world first with the Fastskin Racing System – a cap, goggle and suit designed to work together as one. Speedo is owned by Speedo Holdings B.V. and distributed in over 170 countries around the world; in North America and the Caribbean, Speedo is licensed exclusively to Warnaco Swimwear Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH Corp. To find out more, visit www.speedousa.com.
Courtesy of Speeod USA, a SwimSwam partner.