USC Swimmer Holliday Dies as the Result of Fall

USC distance freestyler Megan Holliday, who overcame a heart condition to continue her swimming career, died Saturday after falling the night before from an off-campus home she shared with six teammates and three other friends.

Holliday, 20, had lent her bedroom key to a friend and was locked out of her bedroom. Friday night, she went into the room next to hers, that of teammate Cindy Makens, and climbed out of Makens’ window. She was trying to climb into her unlocked window when she slipped and fell about 13 feet, her head striking concrete, Makens said.

Unconscious, Holliday was rushed to California Medical Center-Los Angeles, where she died at 5:35 p.m. She never regained consciousness.

Her parents, Ron and Susan, arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday morning from their home in London, Ontario, and were by her side.

Holliday had Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a condition that makes the heart beat too rapidly. She underwent two operations in 1990 in an attempt to slow her heartbeat. Five days after the second operation, Holliday was back in the water.

She won bronze medals in the 400- and 800-meter freestyles at the 1987 Pan Am Games in Indianapolis.

On Wednesday, Holliday was honored at USC’s swimming banquet with the Trojan Spirit Award.

“She always, always put people in a really, really good mood, especially at practice,” Makens said.

“She’d cheer people on when you were hating it during the tough sets because she believed in you.”

A memorial service is planned at USC Tuesday afternoon at a site to be determined. The funeral will be held in Canada, Wednesday or Thursday, according to USC officials.