From a young age, Hill had a feeling that his body was different. He struggled with some basic movements and was hospitalized for a few weeks as a young boy after becoming paralyzed when he got the flu. It wasn’t until he was 23 that his parents told him specifically that he had a condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a neurological condition that affects the muscles in his arms and legs. CMT threatened to alter Jamal’s entire life, including his passion for swimming. But through sheer will, faith, and determination Jamal has not only, over the years, regained his mobility, but he is also at the top of his game as a competitive swimmer. At the age of 24, the Los Angeles native is ranked number one in the U.S. Paralympic 100 Free and number 22 in the world! As a result, he hopes to head to Tokyo as a member of the 2020 U.S. Paralympic Swim Team to bring home the gold. Jamal’s passion for swimming extends well beyond his personal and professional goals for Tokyo 2020 (20ONE). The latest statistics from the World Health Organization show that roughly 360,000 people lost their lives to drowning in 2016. In the U.S., drowning ranks fifth among the causes of unintentional injury death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an attempt to lower the global drowning rate, Jamal recently began an initiative to teach One Million people to swim through private trainings, sponsors, and a digital swim school platform. This movement is Swim Up Hill.

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- Email

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