PLAINFIELD – Saturday (today), 2008 Olympic gold medalist, Cullen Jones will visti the Plainfield Area YMCA in an event that YMCA board member, Lamar Mackson describes as “a step in raising the bar” of interest swimming in Plainfield.

“We are starting to see a growth in the interest of swimming, but what needs to happen I think, is more services provided, more opportunity provided, more focused, intensive training provided,” Mackson said. “That is part of what the YMCA is suggesting, part of our mission with this event is to raise the bar.”

Mackson and fellow board member Kieran Anderson both swam competitively for the YMCA Seahorses growing up, noticed the empty pool during peak hours, and felt something had to be done.

“Being around the Y, we walked past the pool a couple of times and there was nobody in there doing prime time hours,” Mackson said. “I spent eight years on the competitive swim team program and we were there (in the pool) no less than 2 hours a day, every day.”

As new board members, one of their tasks is to find new ways to increase program initiatives and public partnerships.

“After a meeting and coming down to an empty pool, Kieran said we should put together some sort of public event that would rekindle that spirit and educate people about it,” Mackson said. “I found Cullen Jones’ website and learned of his connection to the ‘USA Make A Splash Foundation’ and it kind of snowballed from there after I pitched the idea of bringing Cullen Jones to Plainfield.”

Although swimming is often on the back burner, the interest has grown over the past three years.