Jeff Commings is not Cullen Jones though he is a heck of a breastroker; (50 SCY: 25.62) and a very active swimmer with the USMS.
In this Swimming World article he discusses what it is like to be one of the very few elite swimmers who is coincidentally of African descent.
Apparently people mistake him for Cullen Jones just because he is black!
From Swimming World:
"... And, if you see a black man with a swimmer build at a swimming-related function, do not immediately deduce that the man you are looking at can be no other person than Cullen Jones.
I offer this advice because I am a black man with a swimmer build. I am presently at a swimming-related function at the United States Aquatic Sports Convention. And I am not Cullen Jones.
But in the past week, six people have believed otherwise.
The first time this happened was at the American Swimming Coaches Association's world clinic last week. A woman came to the Swimming World booth to look at some of the instructional books and DVDs we sell. After flipping through a book, she handed it to me and asked, "Would you be willing to sign this?"
[Link]
USA Swimming has got to get this guy involved with the Make a Splash program.
2 comments:
I'm asian, a minority group also underrepresented in swimming [but, honestly, aren't they all?], and I have been confused for people's girlfriends and/or teammates, even when wearing a completely different suit and cap. I suppose that whether at the local or national level, all asians do look same [and evidently black people too, although I tend to think that all white people look alike, but I digress].
Swimmers all look the same, true! This poor fellow is mistaken when he is out of the pool
As for Asians in society: there has never been a Supreme Court Justice, President of the United States, or Speaker of the House that was of Asian descent. There has only been one mainland Governor who was Asian.
Asians don't have it very easy either.
Post a Comment