Former college swimmer and dad of 5 died while practicing holding his breath, autopsy finds
Jack Roney, a former NC State swimmer and assistant coach, died on July 5
NEED TO KNOW
- Former college swim coach Jack Roney died while practicing breathing exercises in the pool, according to an autopsy obtained by multiple outlets
- Footage reportedly showed Roney underwater for more than two minutes before he resurfaced and submerged again
- Roney’s father said his son died of a “shallow water blackout” and wants to spread awareness to the danger of “holding one’s breath underwater for extended periods”
Former NC State swimmer and assistant coach Jack Roney died while practicing breathing exercises underwater, according to his autopsy report obtained by multiple outlets.
Roney, who was 39, drowned on July 5, while he was holding his breath for extended periods of time under the water. According to the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer, the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office said on Tuesday, Aug. 11 that Roney’s cause of death was determined to be an accidental drowning.
Roney’s father, John, said his son died of a rare event called “shallow water blackout,” according to the News & Observer. “We want it known that holding one’s breath underwater for extended periods is dangerous,” John told the outlet, adding, “We’d like to prevent this from happening to someone else. Jack would too.”
The National Library of Medicine describes “shallow water blackout” — also called “hypoxic blackout” — is “a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia during breath-hold submersion, most commonly following pre-dive hyperventilation.”
According to the Charlotte Observer, Roney’s autopsy report said he was in a “good athletic state” at the time of the drowning. “There were no concerns for suicide, substance abuse, or foul play; no trauma was noted,” the autopsy reportedly said.
Roney’s wife of 15 years, Maresa, reportedly discovered her husband unconscious in the pool after stepping away to take a phone call, per the Charlotte Observer. Paramedics reportedly arrived at the pool at 7:36 p.m. and attempted to revive him through CPR until 8:19 p.m. when he was taken to the hospital.
Law enforcement reviewed the moments before the coach drowned and discovered footage of him underwater for roughly two minutes and 14 seconds. Roney reportedly went underwater again and did not resurface.
Roney was pronounced dead at 8:53 p.m. on July 5.
Roney broke the school’s 200-yard breaststroke record, holding it from 2008 to 2011, before becoming an assistant coach, according to an obituary.
He and Maresa, also a swimmer, met at NC State and later welcomed five children together.
