Jamal Hill
U.S. Paralympian, Para swimming, founder & CEO
Age: 28
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Paralympic Games: 2020
Bronze: 2020
Swimmer. Leader. Wavemaker.
Jamal Hill is a Team USA athlete in Para swimming. A Paralympian who earned a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo while setting an American record in the Men’s S9 50-meter freestyle. And while he’s in training and pursuit of more history at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Jamal is so much more than an athlete. He’s a leader and wavemaker in his community well on his way to creating an impactful legacy far beyond the pool.
“Yes, I'm living with the disability, but I'm a full human. I still deserve respect. I still deserve love. I still deserve to honor myself. I still deserve to see myself in a great light.”
Swimmer
Jamal’s life swimming started when he was ten-months old. At age six, he joined a swim team and immediately wanted to compete. But before his dreams of competing at the highest levels were even an idea, Hill faced a rare, life-changing diagnosis at the age of 10: Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). A hereditary disease that causes nerve damage mostly in the arms and legs.
He refused to be sidelined. With the support of his parents and against the wishes of his doctors, he played competitive sports and ultimately joined the swim team in high school. Despite his disability, and while keeping it a secret, Jamal continued having more and more success in the pool.
It was during his training that his coach, Wilma Wong, noticed something different about Jamal’s legs. He was suddenly confronted with a difficult choice: continue concealing his authentic self or owning his disability to pursue an entirely new dream, the Paralympic Games.
Leader
Jamal’s decision to pursue Para swimming and train for the Paralympic Games was as monumental of a change in his life as his CMT diagnosis. The pivot not only helped him find peace with his disability, it helped him unlock even greater potential as a swimmer and a leader.
In the pool, Jamal is forging a path for other Para swimmers as he and his coaches lead the way with innovative techniques and training methods. Most notably, a unique diving method which utilizes an arm swing to generate increased momentum because of the impaired power in his legs. Even more, his training is on the cutting-edge as his team deploys techniques like biohacking and other innovative methods. They increasingly rely on technology and data to optimize Jamal’s performance.
Jamal acknowledges that his success in the pool has helped give him a platform to make an even greater impact in his community and beyond. So, while many know him as a Team USA athlete, he is also the founder and CEO of a non-profit organization. In this role, he applies one of his biggest takeaways from swimming on leadership–showing up every day. It’s the only way he knows how to get better. And it’s through this work that he continues to show up and grow as a leader, in and out of the water.
“Just showing up and being present and walking away 1% better. And whatever I have to give that day, I give it. And that's good enough. That’s how I'm preparing for Paris”.
Explore Jamal’s gallery
With the impaired power in his legs, Jamal utilizes a unique diving technique where he swings one arm back and then forward to help create momentum and drive his body forward into the water.
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Wavemaker
Jamal has always known his greatest impact would come from the wake he creates outside of the pool. As he likes to put it, “A medal doesn’t make anyone a real champion. Champions are people that stand for others.” It was with this mindset that Jamal set out to establish his non-profit, which he leads day-to-day as CEO.
Naturally, Jamal’s organization helps people learn how to swim. More specifically, it teaches lifesaving swimming skills focused toward racially and ethnically diverse communities. Jamal was motivated to create his foundation when he discovered that 79% of children in homes with an annual household income of $50,000 or less have little to no swim skills1. Realizing that this equated to roughly 600,000 kids in his hometown of Los Angeles, Jamal knew he had to help.
“A medal doesn’t make anyone a real champion. Champions are people that stand for others.”
While he’ll always focus on positively impacting his hometown, his vision for his foundation is far more ambitious. His goal? Teach one million people how to swim by 2024 throughout the US and across the globe. One of the ways he hopes to reach this goal is with an innovative training method that helps replace fear with confidence, all while teaching someone to swim in five hours. Something he states that really gives his organization an edge.
It's Jamal’s foundation work that keeps him grounded in purpose, reminding himself of why he trains as hard and often as he does. It’s so he can continue to champion and stand for others, and the impact and differences he’s making in his community and beyond.
“A medal doesn’t make anyone a real champion. Champions are people that stand for others.”
Jamal Hill is nothing short of impressive. But he’s more than a U.S. Paralympian. More than a bronze medalist. Jamal Hill is a champion–in every sense of the word. Not only because of his success in the pool but because he supports and stands for others, making a life-changing difference in his community. And it’s that goal, of helping others, that motivates him to train harder and smarter so he can perform at his highest level. Not just for medals but for the platform to give back that comes with winning.
Jamal’s work starts in the pool, but his impact extends far beyond. Which is why Deloitte is proud to support Jamal as he prepares for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. And as focused as Jamal is on chasing history in 2024, the thought of competing in his hometown for the LA28 Paralympic Games is never far from his mind.
Source: 1. "USA Swimming Foundation Announces 5-10 Percent Increase in Swimming Ability." USA Swimming. May 25, 2017.
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