A tragedy and a promise: Olympic diver says he competes for his adoptive father
Posted August 5, 2021 8:27 p.m. EDT
Morrisville, N.C. — American diver Jordan Windle will compete overnight Thursday, and his story is what the Olympics are all about.
Windle was born in Cambodia, and spent much of his childhood in the Triangle with his adoptive father, Jerry Windle, who is a former Morrisville Town Council member but now lives in northern California.
Jerry Windle said he knew something else in those early years -- that he was gay.
He figured a gay man could never be a dad, and then, a brain tumor robbed him of his mom.
"When my mom died, by then, I had already come to grips that I was never going to be a father," said Jerry Windle.
Until he came across a magazine article about a single man adopting a child from Cambodia.
In 2000, Jerry Windle -- gay and single -- found himself in Cambodia, holding a malnourished 18-month-old boy with skin infections, lice, intestinal worms.
"It was the most overwhelming emotional experience that I've ever had in my life," he described. "When I held him in my arms, I promised him that I would always be there for him, that I would always give him the opportunity to be the best human being he could be.”
With basic American medicine, the child he named Jordan soon became healthy. When he was 7 and living in Fort Lauderdale, Jordan caught the eye of the local dive team coach Tim O'Brien.
"He told me that if you get him into diving, he'll be a national champion one day," said Jerry Windle.
So, Jordan Windle joined the team. Then, in 2013, he and his dad moved to the Triangle, where Jordan trained with the Duke University diving team.
He did become a diving champion, winning national titles and competing in world championships.
"I love that he says he dives for me," said Jerry Windle tearing up. "He said he always wanted to give this to me as a gift."
Now, at 22, Jordan Windle has made it to the Olympics, competing in 10-meter platform diving.
Jerry Windle said it's been quite the journey.
"From the worst tragedy that a person could have -- in losing a parent," he said. "And from a promise of wanting to take care of him and be the best daddy I could to him, (he) has now become an inspiration to people all over the world."
The people of Cambodia gave Jordan Windle a dignitary's welcome during a visit in 2016.
"He might as well be diving under the Cambodian flag. They see him as a national hero," said Jerry Windle.
"As I look at how his life played out, I am so waiting with anticipation of the next chapter of his life, because I know it's going to be something even more great," he added.
In the last few months, Jordan Windle had a Cambodian flag tattooed on the inside of his left arm so you can see it when he dives.
Jordan Windle said he wants the people of Cambodia to know they're always in his heart.
Preliminary rounds of the 10-meter platform start at 2 a.m. EST.
