Olympic gold medalist and family to bring new swim school to St. Johns County

ActionNewsJax.com News Staff
·2 min read

St. Johns parents and children will soon have another option when it comes to swimming lessons.

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Goldfish Swim School has announced that it is adding four-time Olympic gold medalist and Ponte Vedra native Ryan Murphy to its list of franchise owners.

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Murphy, his parents Pat and Katy Murphy, and grandfather Mike Sullivan, will all be involved in bringing Goldfish Swim School to St. Johns in Spring 2024.

“In my own life and in my time visiting Goldfish Swim School locations across the country, I’ve seen the positive impact that learning to swim can have on children, making them not only safer but more confident,” Murphy said. “The opportunity to bring Goldfish’s unique experience and curriculum to the community where I learned to swim was too good to let float by.”

Goldfish Swim School said that Murhpy has been a supporter of drowning prevention and awareness for years. He’s served as an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation and the swimwear company Speedo.

Read: Children may face drowning danger 24 hours after hitting the pool

“From visiting Goldfish Swim Schools to participating in W.A.T.E.R. safety demos and, recently, helping to get more than 16,000 kids and adults to take the 2023 Safer Swimmer Pledge, Murphy is passionate about promoting water safety and swimming skills for kids across the country,” Goldfish Swim Schools said in media release.

Murphy knows a thing or two about professional swimming. In the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, he took home three gold medals (100m backstroke, 200m backstroke and 4X100m medley). During the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he set a world record and took gold in the 4X100m medley relay and won silver and bronze in two other events.

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The new Goldfish Swim School in St. Johns will be located at 2420 County Road 210 Ln. W. According to the company, it will create around 50 jobs in the area.

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