Very few people go on to become Olympic medalists in the very thing that almost killed them. Now two swimmers who almost fatally drowned when they were young are encouraging parents to teach their children to swim as early as possible. "Nearly 20 years before Cullen Jones won his first gold medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay—with teammates including Michael Phelps in the 2008 Bejing Olympics—the New Jersey-bred athlete drowned at a water park in Pennsylvania at age five. … The same thing happened to fellow Olympic swimmer Jessica Hardy, when she was just 3 years old." Now Hardy tells parents to help their kids get in the pool early. She says, "Learning to swim can be nerve wracking for anyone, accident or not. There's a huge fear people have, not just getting into a pool or ocean but just putting their head underwater."

Possible Preaching Angles:

There could be plenty of angles to this story—facing your fears, encouraging parents to start teaching their kids at a young age (especially with spiritual formation not just "swimming formation"), or how God can use bad experiences to make us excel.

Source:

Staff, “2 Olympic Swimmers Who Drowned As Kids Share Their Scary Stories,” Yahoo News (6-12-15)