Swim Team Captain Drowns During Lifeguard Tryouts

Coach says star swimmer's death is 'unfathomable'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2016 1:51 AM CDT
Swim Team Captain Drowns During Lifeguard Tryouts
Jack Jakubek's team photo from the Cortland Red Dragons.   (State University New York Cortland)

Jack Jakubek was one of the last people anybody would ever expect to drown: The 22-year-old had been captain of the swim team in high school and at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he set records in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke, KTLA reports. But during lifeguard tryouts at Pilgrim Lake in Orleans, Mass., Saturday morning, Jakubek went missing while trying to swim to a buoy, ABC News reports. Divers found him around 30 minutes later and he was pronounced dead at Cape Cod Hospital. Jakubek, who graduated from SUNY Cortland two weeks ago, worked as an Orleans lifeguard last year.

Brian Tobin, SUNY Cortland's head swimming and diving coach, tells the Cape Cod Times that the reaction from teammates has been shock and disbelief. Jakubek had planned to return to the university this fall to pursue a master's degree and work as an assistant swim team coach. "Jack visited with me the day after graduation, and we talked about his plans for the summer, the next year, and life in general," says Tobin, per KTLA. "I remember being impressed by how he had everything planned out and put together for himself. It makes an unfathomable event like this even harder to comprehend." The death is being investigated by state and local police. (In California, a teen drowned while volunteering at a beach cleanup.)

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