The cries were coming from below. The woman had fallen into the River Thames.

Jimi was adamant about what should happen next. He told Bernard to stay on land, because he didn’t know how to swim. As for Jimi, he decided to jump in to try and save her.

A post-mortem examination later found that Jimi had died as a result of drowning.

Jimi’s life was tragically lost. A life lost far too soon. A loss that makes our work at the Black Swimming Association (BSA) more vital than ever.

The BSA was born in 2020 to act as a bridge between the aquatic sector and disenfranchised and marginalised groups, including those of Black British heritage.

According to Sport England’s Active Lives Survey from that year, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 95% of Black adults and 80% of Black children did not participate in swimming activities regularly, compared to 89% of White British adults and 71% of White British children.

At the BSA, they work to ensure that African, Caribbean and Asian communities across the country have equitable access to vital water safety and drowning prevention education.

This includes understanding what to do in an emergency, as well as the potentially life-saving benefits of being able to swim.

Moreover, while the general public is largely aware of the benefits of engaging with aquatic activities (such as rowing, sailing and canoeing), the reality is that not everybody has access to them.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Read more here on the Sport England website.