ROCKINGHAM — If Ashton Locklear makes it to the 2016 Olympic Games, the 18-year-old gymnast won’t be the only Hamlet native in Rio de Janeiro.
Cecil Gordon, a 63-year old doctor of medicine who has his own private practice in obstetrics and gynecology and is an associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University, will also be in Brazil representing the United States — without having to perform flips on uneven bars.
Gordon was recently selected as one of two officials from the U.S. who will be tasked with manning the deck of the swim meets at the 2016 Olympics.
“It’s an outstanding feeling,” Gordon said. “To even be considered at that level gives you a sense of self-satisfaction, but to be invited to represent your country in anything is a tremendous honor.”
Not only is Gordon aware that the selection is a milestone in his life, he also understands that it has the potential to affect those who come after him.
Gordon will be the first African-American swim-meet official from the United States in Olympic history.
“We’re all pioneers in one way or another, but I certainly see myself as a role model for a lot of the officials who I know work very hard,” Gordon explained. “And there are a lot of African-American officials who work every day at local meets around the country. So, for them to see that there is an opportunity for them to be selected to work at the highest level of the sport is an inspiration for them as well as it is for me.”
Growing up, Gordon attended Leak Street School in Rockingham for his first eight years of education before going on to Hamlet High School and graduating in 1971. From there, he would study psychology as an undergraduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill, attend medical school there and then carry out his residency in Wilmington, Delaware — where he currently lives.
As one can tell by Gordon’s background in medicine, becoming a swim official wasn’t on his bucket list.
Gordon never learned how to swim as a child, but quickly learned its importance while at UNC. In order to graduate, students had to be able to pass a swimming examination — going four lengths of the pool in three strokes.
“I ended up taking swimming as a freshman, which I enjoyed, but it gave me a skill set that a lot of people that I grew up with didn’t have,” Gordon said. “Just learning to swim was empowering, I thought, as a college student. And something that I vowed to my children, if ever that time came, would learn at an early age.”
A promise that he kept.
Gordon had both his son, Clifton, 23, and daughter, Cecily, 21, take swimming lessons before the age of five. As they grew older, Clifton and Cecily began to compete on the local swim team in Delaware. Supporting his children at their meets, Gordon became restless in the stands and decided to volunteer as a timer — which eventually took on a life of its own.
“Things just sort of took off from there. Next I was the volunteer as a stroke-and-turn official. I did that for a number of years, as well as became a starter and ultimately a referee,” Gordon said. “I followed along with them over the years, but also started to do more and more independent officiating that didn’t entail their swim meets. And I just really fell in love with the sport.”
Clifton would go on to set a few high school records in the state of Delaware, as well as attend his father’s alma mater and swim for its varsity team for four years. Cecily swam throughout high school, but decided not to compete while in college at Georgetown.
After seeing both of his children graduate from their respective institutions, Gordon is on the brink of officiating his third international competition — as he was on deck for the 2013 “Duel in the Pool” meet in Glasgow, Scotland and the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
“In each and every case, the Olympics obviously being the epitome, it’s just an honor to be asked to represent the United States in any capacity,” he added.
Out of the thousands of swimming officials in the country, the United States has a list that contains the names of four starters who are qualified to work international meets. Whenever an international meet is being held, the U.S. is allowed to submit one official from the four-person list to man the deck. From there, FINA — the international governing body for Aquatics — decides which starter will work the meet.
Gordon was the chosen one.
“You always have to work to be the best at what you do — and I think that’s the key,” he said. “You never know where life’s going to take you, but if you always do the best you can do and you always try to serve as a good example of professionalism, then good things happen to you.”
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.
