{"id":204340,"date":"2016-05-22T15:36:27","date_gmt":"2016-05-22T22:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=204340"},"modified":"2017-06-13T18:01:48","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T01:01:48","slug":"ray-essick-usa-swimmings-first-executive-director-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ray-essick-usa-swimmings-first-executive-director-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Ray Essick, USA Swimming’s 1st Executive Director, Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ray Essick<\/strong>, the first USA Swimming executive director, passed away last night while spending time\u00a0with his family. \u00a0The cause of death is not yet known, but the death was sudden.<\/p>\n

No arrangements have yet been made. \u00a0Swimming World<\/em> will keep our readers updated when that information is available.<\/p>\n

\u201cRay Essick led our sport through a period of enormous growth and prosperity,\u201d said current USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus. \u201cHe brought his passion as a coach and his drive for success to his role as USA Swimming’s first executive director. He was a mentor and a dear friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Essick was named one of the 30 most influential people within the sport of swimming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is the profile Swimming World<\/em> ran about Essick’s influence as part of that series:<\/p>\n

Ray Essick File<\/h2>\n