{"id":4517,"date":"2026-08-11T18:40:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4517"},"modified":"2026-08-11T18:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:40:55","slug":"autopsy-reveals-how-jack-roney-a-former-nc-state-swimmer-and-coach-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4517","title":{"rendered":"Autopsy reveals how Jack Roney, a former NC State swimmer and coach, died"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!--[--><!-- AiSummaryComponent.html --><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><svg><title>Key Takeaways<\/title><defs><lineargradient><\/lineargradient><\/defs><\/svg><\/p>\n<div>Key Takeaways<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read our AI Policy.<\/p>\n<ul><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<li>The N.C. Chief Medical Examiner ruled Jack Roney\u2019s death an accidental drowning.<\/li>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<li>Surveillance showed Roney briefly surface after about 2 minutes 14 seconds, then submerge.<\/li>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<li>Roney\u2019s wife said he was doing breath\u2011holding exercises and was found unresponsive.<\/li>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>How did it happen? How could it happen?<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>How did John \u201cJack\u201d Roney, a former N.C. State swimming and diving coach, 39 and an excellent, avid swimmer, die of drowning at a local pool?<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4515\">This bustling Columbia-area road could be getting a new business. What to know<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Those were questions raised after Roney\u2019s death in Raleigh on July 5, one that was sudden, that stunned his family, friends and those in the N.C. State community who knew him well or had been associated with the former Wolfpack swimmer.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Initially, the Roney family did not provide a cause of death. An autopsy by the N.C. Chief Medical Examiner\u2019s Office later ruled it an accidental drowning.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A copy of the Medical Examiner autopsy and investigative report, obtained by The News &amp; Observer, said Roney was at 6308 Hampton Ridge Road in Raleigh, the location of the Hampton Ridge Swim Club, when the incident occurred at 7:30 p.m on July 5.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The report said Roney was taken to the emergency department of WakeMed, where he died at 8:53 p.m.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>What happened at the pool?<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Information provided to EMS said Roney\u2019s wife, Maresa, told medics her husband had been doing breathing exercises and holding his breath underwater, according to the report. No one else was at the pool at the time, she said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Maresa Roney said she walked away to make a phone call and returned in about five minutes to find Jack Roney unresponsive and face down in the middle of the L-shaped pool, in 6 feet of water, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Roney said she immediately pulled her husband from the pool, called 911 and began CPR. Medics arrived on scene at 7:36 p.m., the report said, and noted another EMS team had placed an I-gel airway device. Medics removed the I-gel, placed an endo-tracheal tube and continued CPR until 8:19 p.m., when Roney was taken to the hospital for treatment before his death.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The report said Roney had a history of ADHD and was in a \u201cgood athletic state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The report added: \u201cThere were no concerns for suicide, substance abuse, or foul play; no trauma was noted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The report said the heart was removed for \u201cdonor procurement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement later reviewed surveillance footage of the incident that showed Jack Roney swimming. The report said the video showed Jack Roney submerging, \u201cvery briefly\u201d surfacing after about 2 minutes and 14 seconds, then submerging again without resurfacing.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>John Roney, Jack\u2019s father, told the N&amp;O on Tuesday that his son\u2019s death was caused by \u201cshallow water blackout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4513\">Search for missing person in SC who has been gone for days &amp; could be in danger<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He noted it\u2019s considered a rare event in terms of the total documented incidents per year but accounts for a significant portion of unexplained or elite swimmer drownings. It most frequently affects young, physically fit males under 40, freedivers, spearfishers, and competitive swimmers, John Roney said via email.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want it known that holding one\u2019s breath underwater for extended periods is dangerous,\u201d Roney said. \u201cWe\u2019d like to prevent this from happening to someone else. Jack would too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Who was Jack Roney?<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Roney, who would have turned 40 on July 29, was a Florida native whose family later moved to Charlotte, where he began swimming and quickly excelled, setting age-group records. Roney was a scholarship athlete at N.C. State and broke the school\u2019s 200-yard backstroke record.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It was at NCSU that Roney met Meresa, also a Wolfpack swimmer. They were married 15 years and had five children.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After graduation, Roney coached with the Raleigh Swimming Association before becoming director of operations and an assistant coach for the Wolfpack swimming program. He later would leave coaching to enter software sales.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Roney received many tributes and remembrances after his death including a comment made by Pete William posted on the NCSU Swimming and Diving Facebook page.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Wrote William: \u201cSome people leave this world, but the impact they made never will. You were the kind of man we should all strive to be \u2014 a devoted husband, an incredible father, a loyal friend, and someone who made everyone around you better just by being yourself. You were a role model in every sense of the word.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A GoFundMe account set up to support Maresa Roney and the couple\u2019s five children has raised $231,916 thus far.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>There are plans in place for a \u201cJack Roney Memorial Pavilion\u201d at Lake Johnson Pool. For information, go to Wolfpackelite.org.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4511\">Fort Bragg sends 200 soldiers to \u2018unprecedented wildfires\u2019 in Pacific Northwest<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Roney, known as Jack Roney, was a former NC State swimmer and coach. He drowned at Hampton Ridge Swim Club in Raleigh; autopsy ruled the death accidental.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wake-county"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Autopsy reveals how Jack Roney, a former NC State swimmer and coach, died - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4517\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Autopsy reveals how Jack Roney, a former NC State swimmer and coach, died - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"John Roney, known as Jack Roney, was a former NC State swimmer and coach. 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