Death of former US swimming champ Jamie Cail under investigation by police in Virgin Islands
Jamie Cail swims during the 1998 national championships.
By Kristina Sgueglia and Steve Almasy, CNN
Former American swimming champion Jamie Cail has died in the US Virgin Islands, according to authorities who are investigating her death on the island of St. John.
US Virgin Islands Police Department says Cail’s boyfriend, who was not identified, left a bar just after midnight to check on her last Tuesday when he found her on the floor of their home.
The boyfriend and a friend got her into a vehicle and transported her to Myrah Keating-Smith Community Health Center where CPR was rendered, authorities said.
Cail, 42, ultimately “succumbed to her ailment,” officials added, saying she had died on arrival. The Criminal Investigation Bureau is investigating, police said. A cause of death has not been released.
Cail won gold at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships as a member of the US women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, according to FINA. She also won a silver medal in November 1998 at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Brazil in the women’s 800-meter freestyle.
“USA Swimming is saddened to hear of Jamie Cail’s passing,” said Lindsay Mintenko, managing director of the US national swimming team. “Jamie was a proud member of our National Teams in the late 1990s and was a cherished teammate. We extend our condolences to Jamie’s friends and family.”
As a teenager, Cail spent some time at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, a private college-preparatory school known as a swimming and diving powerhouse.
Former Bolles swimmer Jooyoung Lee said he “never met anyone who had a work ethic like Jamie.”
He said she would push herself to total exhaustion during training.
“She was so tough… a serious competitor,” he said. “But outside the pool, she was a very sweet and sensitive person.”
Cail was listed in the top 16 athletes nationwide in her age group in at least 10 events in US Swimming’s rankings for the 1996-1997 season.
She swam briefly at the University of Southern California before transferring to the University of Maine where she earned a letter in her only season. She graduated in 2003.
“University of Maine athletics is saddened to learn of the death of former Black Bear swimmer, Jamie Cail,” officials said in an emailed statement. “The University of Maine community asks everyone to keep Jamie’s family and friends in their thoughts.”
CNN has reached out to Cail’s family for comment, as well as to authorities for more details.
The police news release said Cail was from New Hampshire.
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CNN’s Jean Casarez, Wayne Sterling and Jill Martin contributed to this report.
