For years, whenever Jordan Windle was diving, he wouldlook down and outat the stands for his dad, Jerry.
“I can usually hear [my dad] out of everyone in the audience, which is awesome,” hetoldTodayrecently. “I wish he was there, but that doesn’t really change what I’m going there to do: to have fun, show off a little bit and put on a show for everyone. That’s going to be my intention and I’m hopefully going to make him proud.”
It resonated deeply: Jerry, who is gay, had “wanted to be a dad for as long as I could remember,” he has said.
What’s more, he told a reporter in 2012, “Being a military officer, we did a lot of study in college of the Vietnam War. The atrocities that were committed in Cambodia during the Vietnam War struck a chord with me.”
After he spotted the magazine story, Jerry reached out to officials in Cambodia and soon enough got life-changing news.
Jerry Windle (right) with son Jordan.Jordan Windle Instagram
“They said that they wanted [Jordan] to be my son, and they thought that he would be the perfect match with me based on my home study and my personality,” Jerrysaid in 2018. “I saw his picture, and I immediately fell in love with him.”
In June 2000, Jerry flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where Jordan had been living in an orphanage for a year since his birth parents died.
“My heart just came up through my chest and into my throat,” Jerry said in 2018.
Jordan, who kept his Cambodian name (which means “little darling”) as a middle name, recalled then how when he saw his dad, “the first thing I started doing to him was I started grabbing his cheeks. I would squish his cheeks and stuff. It was just kind of a comfort thing.”
But there was already so much love.
“My greatest hope for Jordan is that he finds happiness throughout his life, and that he has the opportunity to pursue his dreams,” Jerrysaid in 2014.
Jordan Windle.Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Jordan Windle.Matteo Ciambelli/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“If it’s in Jordan’s future to go to the Olympics representing the United States and win a gold medal,” his dad said then, “that would be amazing.”
“He has beautiful lines,” one of his coaches, Matt Scoggin,said three years agowhile he was diving for the University of Texas. “He’s strong, fast and graceful. The combination of it looks beautiful.” (Though, for the record, Jordan has said he “hates” heights and, if he had his choice, would be diving from the 3m springboard rather than some two-and-a-half stories into the water.)
“Most of the people love the adrenaline rush of the sport, but diving is one of the sports you really have to love. You can’t do it just to do it, because you will burn out real quickly,” Jordansaid in 2017.
The story of his adoption and the story of his championship diving career are often told at the same time. And while the family has spoken candidly about it for years —advocating for LGBTQ acceptanceat a time of more widespread discrimination, evenwriting a children’s book together— Jerry has said he doesn’t want to overshadow his son.
“I am Jordan’s dad. One small piece of who I am is I’m a gay man,” he said earlier this summer. “That sometimes trumps what the real story is — of what an athlete’s accomplishments are.”
“If he hadn’t had the opportunity I was able to give him,” Jerry said in 2018, “the world wouldn’t have known who he is.”
Jordan, too, says he wouldn’t be here without his father.
Jerry Windle (left) with Jordan.Jordan Windle Instagram
“I tell everyone, when they ask me why I dive, I dive purely for my dad and how much he loves watching me,” Jordan toldToday.
“Without him making all the sacrifices that he has, and his love and support the whole time we’ve been together, I really wouldn’t be where I am today,” Jordan said. “I have him to thank for everything, all my accomplishments. It’s been an amazing journey with him, and we’re still rolling.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
