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© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2002
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Misfortune is no match for Emily Ollivier.
Mononucleosis? Sure it left the River Ridge athlete weak and bed-ridden for days as a junior, unable to speak, but weeks later, she was on the track, tossing the shot put around again.
Shoulder surgery? Ollivier wouldn't have it until after that junior year, gutting through the pain in her right throwing shoulder until the region meet.
Car accidents? After the first one in October, it was a good thing she was already seeing a chiropractor (she separated a rib as a sophomore; it's a long story).
And the second one? The senior was in Gainesville for the Florida Relays days after that one, competing with glass still stuck in her forehead and arm. And she still threw for 35 feet.
How has Ollivier handled all this adversity?
With a shrug of her surgically-repaired shoulder.
"Well, the (second) accident kind of sucked," Ollivier said. "Because that happened right before I went to Florida Relays and when I went there I was still suffering from a concussion.
"I also had scars on my head and arm. I was so bloody-looking. Everyone was like, "What happened to you?' And I was like, "I was in an accident, blah, blah, blah.' "
In other words, she's handled it all quite well.
Incredibly well, actually.
What's the word for someone like that?
"She's certainly resilient," River Ridge girls coach Dave Heywood said. "Geez, I can't think of any (worse injuries happening to an athlete.) I can't remember how many car accidents she's had. She had the mono. She had the surgery. And yet she was dominant last year. It wasn't a fluke.
"She's been consistently dominant over the last two, three years."
Pasco County's most dominant hurler, with bits of glass still emerging from wounds on her forehead and arm, will try for state domination at today's Class 3A meet at Coral Springs.
It is Ollivier's last chance to place at state, a feat she could have achieved last season if not for the shoulder injury.
Oh yeah, the shoulder injury. Ollivier believes she hurt her shoulder her sophomore season, when she also separated a rib from her spine.
Naturally, it didn't stop her from throwing.
The injured rib appeared as a bump on her back, and has had her seeing a chiropractor ever since. "My back is terrible now," she said, "and now I've had the two accidents, too."
And it hasn't stopped Ollivier from rewriting her own school records, or winning three-consecutive Sunshine Athletic Conference shot put titles. This season, she set another shot put record with a toss of 38-10 and threw the discus 107-6.
Her shot put distance is among the 10 best in the state, and she has worked hard this season to make sure she returns wearing a state medallion after today's meet.
"This year, she has taken it on her own to go out to the weight room," Heywood said. "She'll spend the extra hours throwing the shot. She goes above and beyond.
"She's had more one-on-one coaching this year, and I think being a year older and being more mature has helped her. She realizes what she can do now."
That means warming up with a boys' 12-pound shot before practicing with her 8-pounder. That means doing everything she can to be the best at a sport she has only just now fallen hard for.
Ollivier will do anything to place now, such as suffer through injury and illness, or pull herself out of bed for a two-hour drive to Gainesville for a meet days after a serious accident.
Or even even touch those gross barbells.
"I'm determined. I'm into it this year," Ollivier said. "I kind of love it now, and I just want to be the best at it. I want to be No. 1, so I'm working really hard.
"Last year didn't really work out, so I've been lifting weights now. I got over my fear of the grossness of the weight room and I'm in there now working on those rusty things."