Fairmont State University swimming alumnus and Born To Swim co-founder Kamil Cepelak has died at the age of 40 after a battle with colon cancer.
Cepelak swam at Fairmont State University from 1999 to 2003. In 2015, he helped found Born to Swim, a company that made custom swimwear and training apparel. Fairmont State posted about Cepelak’s passing on Facebook last week.
Cepelak spanned two different head coaches at Fairmont State over his four years, and both remembered Cepelak fondly.
From Edward Denny, Fairmont State Head Coach 1991-2001
I first met Kamil when he arrived on the campus of Fairmont State College, now Fairmont State University, from the Czech Republic in 1999 and was his coach for his 1st and 2nd years at Fairmont. I was immediately struck by the wide-eyed sense of joy, wonderment and excitement emanating from Kamil. For the next 21 years I knew him, that sense seemed to only grow stronger in all he did.
Kamil always saw the best in people and made sure you knew it. Kamil wanted everyone to be happy and the energy he dedicated to every single friend was incredible. One truly felt as if you were his one and only best friend. Kamil was every friend’s #1 fan. He may not have been the most talented nor successful swimmer on the team, but he was the engine that drove the enthusiasm for swimming and, more importantly, life itself. I miss my friend.
From Patrick Snively, Fairmont State Head Coach 2001-present
When I took over the program at Fairmont State, Kamil was perhaps the most hesitant to the change. He and Coach Denny had a strong bond and I knew that while on the exterior he seemed fun-loving and often goofy, he was very serious about his swimming career and about his teammates and was tentative because the team was moving from being led by someone with many years of successful leadership to someone not much older than himself. I think once he knew for certain that I loved and cared about him as an individual, the walls quickly dissolved and our bond became very strong.
That bond carried over long after Kamil graduated and moved away. I watched him from afar as he became a successful entrepreneur, husband, and father.
During his last trip to campus three years ago, Kamil was excited to tell me all about his family and about his newest business venture, Born to Swim USA. There was no sales pitch for his company, just excitement in his voice and unwavering interest in my words. You see, that was Kamil’s greatest attribute. He made whoever he was with feel like they were the most important person in the world. That is why so many are in this moment so devastated by the loss of such an amazing individual and spent much of the weekend going through old photos laughing and crying and thinking about Kamil’s unique and infectious laugh.
I am really saddened to hear of Kamil’s passing. Kamil spent a couple of summers coaching with us at the Michigan Swim Camps. He was a joy to work with…a very, very special person.