RALEIGH, N.C. —  Drowning deaths have started to increase in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Wake County alone, the Sheriff’s Office has responded to seven drownings this year, including one this week where a man’s body was recovered in the area of the Neuse River after a 10-hour search.

What You Need To Know

  • The Wake County Sheriff’s Office has responded to seven drownings this year

  • Raleigh Swim School is helping people become efficient swimmers

  • The owners of the school say it's never too late to learn how to swim 

Lindsey Stewart and Katya Khalimon, owners of Raleigh Swim School, are on a mission to help prevent drownings. A big part of what they do is teaching people of all ages how to be efficient swimmers and what techniques are needed in water emergencies.

They are putting on their first summer camp for kids to become better swimmers.

“I think that’s one of the greatest gifts of this whole program that we offer is that people can come in and with a fear, we teach them how to be safe. Beyond that they find a love for the sport; they find an outlet for health and fitness,” Khalimon said.

Khalimon was born in Russia but moved to Dallas, Texas, when she was a young girl. She started competitive swimming there when she was 5. She swam throughout high school and then become a swim coach. When she came to North Carolina, she coached for a local swim school before meeting her business partner, Stewart.

Stewart also grew up swimming, and went to the community swimming pool and to Ocean Isle Beach. Her passion grew as she swam competitively, became a lifeguard and taught swimming lessons.

“Seeing the light in everyone’s eyes when they find that love of swim and the confidence that they can get through swimming is why I wake up and do this every day,” Stewart said.

The business owners said they licensed Raleigh Swim School just a year ago. They were doing mobile lessons and rented pool space in the area for swim lessons. Through this they noticed there were not enough pool spaces for people to swim in the area. But they were able to find a location in Raleigh where they could help even more people learn to swim.

“I think it really boils down to we knew we had the gift to share the water safety and awareness, and it was a more a why shouldn’t we spread this to more? If I can teach 100 kids to save their own life, why shouldn’t I teach 1,000?” Khalimon said.

While Stewart and Khalimon teach kids to swim efficiently, they also teach instructors lifesaving skills and certify their instructors to be lifeguards. This is important as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 4,500 people died due to drowning each year from 2020 to 2022.

Stewart and Khalimon wanted to make a dent in the drowning statistics, and also make sure that no family has to feel the pain of losing a loved one to drowning.

“I lost my daughter — she was stillborn last year and that was not something that could be prevented. But drowning is something that can be prevented, and as a business we want to do everything we can so we don’t see people suffering with grief because they are losing loved ones over something that we know we can teach and spread throughout our community,” Stewart said.

July 25 is World Drowning Prevention Day.