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Former UC San Diego Swimmer Among Those Killed in Haiti Earthquake

Ioana Patringenaru | January 19, 2010

Photo of
Ryan Kloos and his sister, Erin.
(Photo/Courtesy of the Kloos family)

UC San Diego alumnus Ryan Kloos had flown to Haiti to visit his sister and help her care for orphaned and disabled children. Last week, his drive to help others and his young life were cut short when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean nation.

Ryan’s body was found Jan. 13 in the ruins of a residence for volunteers, which doubled as a school for disabled children. He was 24 years old. That same day, rescuers found his sister, Erin, amid the rubble. She had been badly injured but was still alive. She is currently in stable condition at a south Florida hospital, according to Friends of the Orphans, the organization for which she volunteered.

Ryan was a dedicated swimmer, who majored in biochemistry and cell biology and planned to attend medical school, said his former coach, Scott McGihon. He routinely put in 20 hours a week in the pool during practice and was so dedicated to his sport that he was reluctant to slow down after a knee injury. Coach McGihon said he sometimes had to send Ryan home to make sure he didn’t work too hard. In his senior year, the young athlete just missed qualifying for a national championship competition. His specialty was breaststroke.

Ryan was on the UCSD squad for four years and was very well liked on the team. He cared deeply about other athletes’ success, McGihon also said. He would always trust staff members to lead the team in the right direction and his positive attitude rubbed off on younger swimmers, who looked up to him, the coach said.

“Ryan was a real special guy,” McGihon said.

After graduating in 2008, Ryan went back home to Phoenix, Ariz, said the coach. He planned to study for the MCAT and pursue a medical career. McGihon learned of his former student’s death from one of his team mates. The news brought a sense of shock and disbelief, he said. The coach had known the young man for seven years.

Ryan’s death also brought home the reality of the devastation in Haiti, McGihon said. As a result, many athletes have been donating to relief funds. The coach said he is not sure how his team plans to remember Ryan. He wants to get in touch with the alumnus’ parents first, he said. The university wants to respect their wishes, he added.

Last McGihon heard, Ryan’s parents were in Florida, caring for his sister Erin, who is still hospitalized. A University of Washington graduate, she had been serving at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos/Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs, French and Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters,” in Haiti. She helped in the lab at the hospital, translated for visiting doctors and assisted visitors and volunteers, according to Friends of the Orphans.

 She also spent weekends and evenings caring for orphaned children and those with special needs. She and Ryan were at the Father Wasson Center, a residence that also served as a school for disabled children, in the town of Petionville, a suburb of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, when the quake hit.

 

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