Friends and family have paid tribute to a former champion swimmer who died after being found unresponsive at her home in the US Virgin Islands.
Jamie Cail, 42, was found on the floor by her boyfriend on 21 February after he left a bar to check up on her, according to officials.
Authorities say that the unnamed boyfriend and a friend carried Cail to a vehicle and drove her to the Myrah Keating-Smith Community Health Center.
“Once at the clinic, CPR was rendered and 911 was notified, however, the female succumbed to her ailment,” police said in a statement. Investigators have now launched a criminal investigation into her death.
Cail, from New Hampshire, was a top high school and university athlete who was part of a relay team that won a gold medal at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships. She later swam for both the University of Southern California and the University of Maine.
Jamie’s father Gary wrote on Facebook that he was “devastated”.
Jessica DeVries identified herself as Cail’s cousin on a tribute page on Facebook.
“We are all devastated as a family. Pat and Gary, Jamie’s parents are living in Maine,” she wrote.
“They are absolutely shook to the core. We are all mourning together and are unbelievably grateful and blessed by the outpouring of love and uplifting experiences you are sharing with us,” she posted.
Jooyoung Lee took to Twitter to remember his late high school teammate.
“Very sad to hear that my hs friend and teammate, Jamie Cail (in the middle with the Bolles suit), has passed away,” he tweeted.
“Jamie had an unmatched work ethic. She left everything in each practice and became a world class distance swimmer through grit. Rest in peace to a real one,” he tweeted.
“I remember we used to do dry land training to supplement swimming. One set was 10 x 1 minute rapid jumps while holding weights over one’s head. Most of us would hold 10 pound weights. Jamie would hoist a 45 pound plate above her head and push through pain. She was a real one.”
Another friend, who was not named, told WMUR that Cail was a “very beautiful person.”
“She had a huge heart. She was really loving and kind and well-loved and popular on the island and everybody knows her.”
“Everyone from the you know, older generational, local families to the younger people, everybody loved her.”
