Former Olympian Rowdy Gaines is trying to turn the tide on drowning.

Over his swimming career, Gaines has spent a long time in the pool, although he learned how to swim in a lake in Winter Haven, before he was old enough to walk.

Gaines won three gold medals at the 1984 summer Olympics, and throughout his swimming career he’s swum the equivalent of the circumference of the earth.

Now he leads the YMCA of Central Florida aquatics program, where his goal is to get more kids involved in swimming lessons.