MIKE CAMPBELL's mailing address is 2 Ripple Rush - Woodlands, Tx. 77381
Collin Campbell
Man who drowned during half-triathlon remembered as fit athlete
Questions remain after strong swimmer perishes in calm Lake Livingston
Published 2:54 pm, Monday, September 12, 2016
Collin Campbell at a 2016 race in Pearland, Texas.
Courtesy Of The Campbell Family
Article written in the Houston Post
A family in The Woodlands is in mourning after a 27-year-old man died of an apparent drowning in Lake Livingston during a half-triathlon.
Collin Campbell was known as a strong swimmer, a fit athlete and a determined competitor, his mother said Monday. Campbell had trained for months; the half-triathlon was part of his preparation for a full Ironman race in North Carolina next month.
"His trainer said he swims twice that amount (of the Sunday morning race), so we don't know what happened," Becky Campbell said.
A Polk County game warden who responded to the apparent drowning said the lake was calm Sunday.
"The water was relatively flat," game warden David E. Johnson said Monday. "There was really no chop, very little wind."
At about 9 a.m. Sunday, Johnson was among the first responders who saw Campbell's bike remained untouched at the finish of the race's swimming portion. Another competitor helped responders narrow the search area, and Campbell's body was recovered by 5 p.m. with the help of two sonar-equipped search boats and a Texas Parks and Wildlife dive team.
Drownings in the lake are rare, Johnson said, with only one taking place most years. He said the race continued because all competitors had left the lake by the time Campbell's absence was noticed.
Becky Campbell said Collin, the youngest of three, become a strong soccer player after he realized his medium height wouldn't help him in football, the family sport. He excelled on the playing field and made the U.S. Olympic development team.
Collin Campbell graduated from Texas Tech and succeeded as a salesman for oilfield services companies, like his dad, Becky Campbell said. He was an outgoing and gregarious young man who stayed close with his family, sharing a house in Houston's Heights neighborhood with his sister and a friend.
"I was just so blessed to have someone like that for 27 years in my life," his mother said the day after his death.
A funeral is expected Friday or Saturday.
Funeral Friday at first Methodist church of the Woodlands.
The Campbell family members are deep rooted in the history of UT Austin sports. Collin Campbell's dad Mike Campbell IV played on the 1969 National Championship team with his twin brother Tom, and another brother (Rusty) also played for the Longhorns (no picture). Their father was the defensive coordinator for Coach Royal for 20 years. Coach Campbell was part of 3 of the 4 National Championship football teams at the University of Texas.
