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Well-known swimming commentator and three-time Olympic medalist Rowdy Gaines and his wife Judy are among the Florida residents severely impacted by Hurricane Helene.
On Friday, Gaines’ daughter, Madison Gaines, said that her parents’ home in Port Charlotte, Florida, has been hit with massive flooding and they’re unable to evacuate on Gaines’ Instagram story.
She said their home, located on a dirt road in the woods of Port Charlotte, has been hit by the storm so severely that they’re unable to leave to get to their cars, and even once the water clears, they’re not sure they’ll be able to leave for supplies given past hurricane experiences.
Gaines’ house sits on three-foot stilts, Madison explained, and yet the flooding has exceeded that height as she shared a video of water starting to come up onto their patio and into their house.
She added that her grandparents live down the road and that their house does not sit on stilts, and they haven’t heard from them.
This is Madison Gaines, Rowdy’s daughter. I wanted to give an update on my parents going through this hurricane to everyone.
My parents did not evacuate in time. The storm surge, rain, and tide has caused flooding of over 3 feet. Their house sits on 3 foot stilts, which is in the middle of the woods of Port Charlotte. They can not get to their cars due to flooding and have no way of getting out. Their house and my grandparents’ house sits down a dirt road, which in the past after a hurricane has been hard to get out due to fallen trees and debris. So they don’t know once the water clears if they will be able to leave to get supplies. Power is out for them, so they are trying to conserve as much battery as possible on their phones.
My grandparents’ house does not sit on stilts and is currently under 3 feet of water in their house. As of right now, we have not heard from them.
During this difficult time, I am asking anyone to please keep them in your prayers and send them love their way. If anyone has any resources to help them once it is safe, please reach out to me here on Rowdy’s PMs.
You can watch the video shared by Madison on Gaines’ Instagram story here.
Gaines, 65, has been a mainstay on swimming broadcasts dating back to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, serving as the lead NBC analyst alongside several play-by-play men, most notably Dan Hicks during Olympic competition.
Prior to his commentating career, Gaines was a standout American sprinter, winning three gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles in the men’s 100 free, 4×100 free and 4×100 medley relays. He is also a five-time World Championship gold medalist and a seven-time Pan American champion.
He and his wife Judy have four daughters, Emily, Madison, Savannah and Isabelle.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region around 11:10 pm E.T. on Thursday, and has killed at least 25 people and left millions without power across the Southeastern United States.