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Sep 2009  |  By Mibs  |  Comments (1)

Olympic Medal Winner Donates Private Swim Clinic

TAGS: matt grevers, olympics, swimming, the parkways foundation

"When one of my teammates win, we all win," says Matt Grevers, 3-time Olympic medalist.

In a world where celebrity is often about self-indulgence, Grevers brings pride and dedication to his life and his commitment to swimming.

In fact, this Lake Forest native has donated a swim clinic for 10 children to the first annual online auction to benefit the Parkways Foundation, the philanthropic partner of the Chicago Park District.

The one-hour private swim clinic with the Olympian and his brother Andrew Grevers, head coach for the Northwestern Aquatic Swim Association, will take place on Friday, Aug. 28. The auction for the clinic is currently taking place on MakeItBetter.net, and the top bids for a single slot are currently between $350 and $400.

At 6-foot-8, Grevers will teach young swimmers the secrets to his Olympic-medal-winning freestyle and backstroke as well as the importance of teamwork and family.

"I know from experience that swim teams are tight-knit families," Grevers says. "We're a cast of individual characters that go through a journey together. We're there for each other from the get-go and we've got each other's back no matter what."

Breaking his first national record at the age of 10, Matt Grevers has been in the limelight of swimming for some time. During his senior year, Grevers broke the state record in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke, and he remains the only high school athlete in Illinois to swim the 50-yard sprint in under 20 seconds.

At the college level, it did not take long for Grevers to cement himself as one of the most illustrious swimmers in NCAA history. As a sophomore at Northwestern, he won a national championship in the 100-yard backstroke, the first individual swimming title for the Wildcats since 1958. Grevers graduated in 2007 as a 27-time All American with a degree in communications.

In 2008, he competed in the Beijing Olympics, winning a total of three medals: