Giving Back

Julian Bolling from Sri Lanka is a three time Olympian. He represented his country in the 1984,1988 and 1992 Games as a swimmer.

"The '84 Olympics was the first of the three Olympics I went to, but we never planned on it, and it suddenly came. There is a lot of pride involved because you are at the Olympics, there are only a few thousand athletes from around the world that gather so you do feel special, but also, I was like a little fish in a big pond”.

While Julian did not come close to winning a medal, it was a great experience for him: “We can talk about achievements in terms of success but I think the nice thing is the Olympic motto, which says that the struggle is more important than the victory. I sure did struggle through my career, but today as a swimming coach I can see the reason why I went through what I went through, so that I can relate to kids if they do or are in a similar situation I can sort of empathize with them”.

Julian now earns his living running the Rainbow Swim Academy in the capital city of Colombo. The club exists to help beginners learn to swim and train elite swimmers for competition.

On Dec. 26, 2004, Sri Lanka made world headlines when a tsunami struck. Several of Julian’s staff lost family members. In the aftermath, Julian and others became convinced that many had drowned not only due to the force of the waves but also because they could not swim. He felt that “learning how to swim and survive in water was the one key thing people needed to survive a tsunami”.

He helped found SwimLanka, an organization designed to help children overcome their fear of the sea. “The SwimLanka project is all about mobile pools, so what we do is we take these mobile pools from village to village. For like five weeks we go through ten lessons for each kid and we go through 100 to 125 kids in a batch. I think at one time we had 30 pools running around the coastline of the entire nation... ."

“I am grateful that I am involved with SwimLanka. This is important not just because we want to produce superstars or kids who can swim for Sri Lanka and do well, but because I love every child who learns to swim in water. Teaching to swim, I think, is a lifesaving tool, and that’s the reason why I am in this sport”.

As a Christian, Julian is happy to have the opportunity of giving back to his country. “I thank God that I was born into a Christian family, going to church. Following Jesus was the best decision I ever made. To know that Jesus is there with me. There is a thing called eternal life and we cannot achieve it on our own. We need God’s help and God has given that answer through his son, Jesus. He died for us so that we can have eternal life. To me it not simply trying to do good but to accept the good deed done by Jesus and accept him into your life and from there on it is home”.

His relationship with Jesus Christ sustained him as a swimmer and continues to motivate him in all he does. As Julian says, "It will last forever."