Single Dad Adopts and Raise Boy – Boy Becomes Olympic Champion
A man adopted a child in Cambodia, becoming a single father. Over the years that boy became an Olympic medalist.
Jerry Windle had the firm intention of becoming a father, the problem is that he had no one with whom to fulfill this dream. It was only through adoption that he was able to achieve this, yet he has had to fight against the prejudices that this entails.
It all started while he was waiting in his doctor’s office, there he flipped through a magazine until he found a report about the orphans of Cambodia and was moved to read the stories of the children in that country.
This was how he contacted the services of the Cambodian institution that was mentioned in the magazine. He wanted to know if he could adopt a little boy in need, and that was the beginning of his story as a single father.
People around Jerry Windle loved him, but they always told him that he would never be a father if he stayed single. He even comments that he himself believed that he would never have a child, since he had already tried to adopt a child in the United States.
It was until he contacted the association mentioned in the report that this hope was reborn, they sent him the papers to complete the adoption application. Soon after, the association sent her photos of the children she could adopt, and that’s when she came across an 18-month-old orphan. She knew immediately that this would be the one.
Jerry traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to see face to face his future son, whom he named Jordan. The little boy was in an orphanage since the death of his biological parents. He was very malnourished and visibly ill. Jerry took him to Florida and took care of him like he was his own son from the moment he met him.
Life was not easy for this small family, Jerry had to teach Jordan English, so at first he had to sign with him. Only with love and dedication were they able to overcome difficulties.
Jerry raised Jordan the way he had been raised, taking him to the fields, to church and, in the summers, signing him up for different themed camps. It was precisely in one of these camps that Tim O’Brien, son of a famous diving coach, Ron O’Brien, met him when he was only 7 years old. Tim told Jerry that Jordan could have a great future as a diver, so he suggested that he enroll the little boy in a special diving program.
Jerry did everything in his power to help his son with this diving adventure, including moving cities twice, first to Indianapolis and then to North Carolina.
Over the years, and with Jerry ‘s encouragement, Jordan became the first Cambodian qualified to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, representing the United States.
He has 6 junior national titles, 7 senior US titles, and 2 NCAA titles, setting collegiate records and 3-meter springboard and platform events. His first Olympic trials were classified when he was only 13 years old, in 2012. Jordan also studied at the University of Texas, graduating as one of the best and always with his father by his side.
