Olympian Cullen Jones was named to TheGrio.com’s 100 African-Americans as part of the news website celebration of Black History Month. The acknowledgment fits Jones. The 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist has devoted his time out of the pool to encourage minority children to love the same sport that propelled him into the spotlight.

Through Make A Splash initiative, a national drowning prevention campaign targeting Black and Latino youth, Jones has been touring the country offering mini-swim camps to inner city youths.

When Jones was told of the staggering number of Black children who die needlessly because they don’t know how to swim, he decided to become the face of the campaign. Jones almost became part of that statistic.

He nearly drowned when he was five years old. (Read full article here) Nearly 70 percent of African-American children and 58 percent of Hispanic children have little to no swimming ability, compared to 40 percent of white children.

Jones is now gearing up for the 2012 Summer Olympics in England. Jones is the first African-American to bring home an Olympic gold medal in swimming, and only the second Black man to compete in the sport on a U.S. Olympic team.