Crowd Starts Screaming, Teen's Body at Bottom of Pool. Competitor Jumps in to Save Him
Life is not always about competing to get to the top. Sometimes it’s about helping others finish the race as well, even if they’re your competition. And in some cases, rivals can even become allies in the right situation.
High school varsity swimmer, Xavier Staubs, portrayed this recently during a swim meet on Thursday, Jan. 4.
The freshman from Corunna High School in Michigan had just finished a relay when the crowd started screaming to get his attention.
That’s when Staubs looked closer and saw that his rival, Kamrin Samson, was in trouble. The junior swimmer from Owosso High School was “completely limp, floating to the bottom of the pool.”
“My eyes were burning as I was doing this,” Staubs remembered after jumping in to save the teen.
“I clawed to the bottom of the pool, lifted him up with one arm, pushed him to the surface, and raised him to the surface with one arm.”
One of Staub’s teammates, a certified lifeguard, also jumped in to save the drowning swimmer. Samson’s coach Mike Gute quickly ran over to help pull him out the water.
From there, Gute said a nurse and retired firefighter ran over to help, as well as his wife who’s a pediatric nurse.
As a former cop and firefighter himself, the coach was impressed by all the help surrounding Samson.
“Kamrin had the right people there at the time to take care of him,” Gute said. “People knew what to do with a situation like that.”
It was especially nice to see someone from an opposing team help his swimmer.
Both schools have always been friendly rivals, but this just solidified how much they value friendship more than a win.
“There’s always this competition no matter what sport it is, but really our communities are three-to-four miles apart. And even though there’s that rivalry, there’s a friendship,” Gute stated.
Corunna varsity swimmer saves Owosso competitor from drowning at swim meet https://t.co/B5dLgDy6S4 pic.twitter.com/ix0Bp9r8OV
— Terry Pickard (@TerryPickard6) January 7, 2018
“That’s how I was raised,” Staubs spoke of the situation. “I didn’t care if it was a rival or anything, I just saw someone needed help and I instantly thought, ‘I got to save this guy.'”
Samson’s mom, Cory, said since it was her son’s first meet, he may have had issues with breathing.
Fortunately, he has recovered from the frightening situation and hopes to get back to swimming with his team soon.
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