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Olympian who nearly drowned as child opens swim school in Mandarin

A two-time Olympic swimmer is taking action in Jacksonville to protect local kids from drowning.

More children under the age of 5 drown in Florida than any other state, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.

When Nim Shapira was 7 years old, he almost became a statistic.

“At a birthday party, somebody accidentally pushed me into the pool. And everyone thought I was swimming or playing around. But in fact, I was drowning to the bottom of the pool,” said Shapira.

He started taking swim lessons the next day and eventually fell in love with the sport.

When he was 15, he moved by himself from Israel to Jacksonville to be on Bolles’ swim team.

Shapira went on to swim for Israel in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Since then, he’s opened five swim schools in Michigan.

When he came back to Jacksonville for a visit last year, he heard about a 4-year-old at a cookout who was the latest in a string of local drownings.

“One of the people at the table – I don’t remember who – just asked me, ‘You do this in Michigan. Why wouldn’t you do it here in Jacksonville?’” said Shapira.

He bought a building in Mandarin two weeks later and started renovating it.

He opened Aqua Swim School five weeks ago.

“I have a philosophy in life: From every crisis, you have a hidden opportunity. And for me, seeing that situation with a child that drowned -- that was, for me, the opportunity to come and give back to Jacksonville,” said Shapira.

Shapira said the pool at Aqua Swim Club is always heated to 92 degrees or warmer to make kids want to be in the water.

He said the pool enclosure will be completed next month to make the pool weatherproof.

Shapira said instructors also educate parents on how to make their pools safer.