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Courtesy of Gary Hall Sr., 10-time World Record Holder, 3-time Olympian, 1976 Olympic Games US Flagbearer and The Race Club co-founder.
Olivia was just 12 years old when she attended her first Race Club camp in 2015 in Islamorada, Florida. She was easy to coach; bright, athletic and eager to learn. She caught on quickly to many of the techniques we teach, including a high-octane freestyle recovery, Race Club flip turns and a superb Brad Tandy start technique.
As an age group swimmer, Olivia was not a big girl. She had to fight in her races in the pool with tenacity, making up for her smaller size with a higher stroke rate and great technique. She excelled in all four strokes, with freestyle being her favorite. At the age of seven, long before I met her, she had a state swimming record in the state of Arkansas, where she lived. From the beginning of her swimming career, she showed her passion for her beloved sport.
Even more obvious than her passion for swimming was her infectious smile and gregarious personality. Everyone loved being around Olivia in our camps. She was an absolute joy to coach. Olivia was so good with her technique that I often chose her to demonstrate a new drill or technique that I was trying to teach the other swimmers in camp. I called her my go-to-girl for demonstrations.
After 2015, Olivia’s mom, Alison, brought her to the Thanksgiving Camp of 2017 and made it an annual tradition to return to that camp, which she did for four successive years. She also attended one of our Starts and Turns camps. During the camp in 2019, Alison brought Olivia’s problems with her vision to my attention. Before that camp, Olivia noticed her vision beginning to blur. She was taken to an Optometrist for a routine examination, after which, her eyes began to cross. Glasses helped but did not correct the problem. Since I had been an Ophthalmologist, Alison asked me for my opinion. I did not know what was going on with her. None of it made sense to me. I recommended some of the finest Pediatric Ophthalmologists in the country, and Alison took Olivia to every one of them. None of them could find a diagnosis.
Eventually, it was determined that Olivia has an extremely rare disease called mitochondrial gene deletion syndrome. It is so rare that even the experts weren’t sure of her prognosis, only that there was no known cure and that her vision would slowly deteriorate, which it has.
With my encouragement and with the help of our College Placement Video, Olivia entered the University of Northern Iowa, which has been an extremely good fit for her. She loves it there and is now in her senior year. With her failing vision, she has used adaptive visual equipment and a guide dog to excel in her studies. Throughout all her challenges with visual disability, Olivia has maintained an incredibly positive outlook and attitude. Not once have I ever seen her feeling down. She is a role model for all of us about staying positive.
The silver lining in this long journey with her failing vision has been her qualification as a Paralympic athlete. This year in Paris, the crown jewel came in her 400 meter freestyle, where she won the Paralympic Gold medal, finishing with a best time. As I watched the telecast of her swim, I took great pride in seeing her fly off the blocks with her Tandy start. Then, her high-octane, hybrid freestyle technique, using a fast stroke rate and strong kick propelled her to the lead. Her Race Club turns were exceptional, gaining time on her competitors on each one. She led from beginning to end, giving a big fist pump splash of celebration after touching the wall first.
She hasn’t forgotten one thing that we taught her, I thought to myself.
Olivia went on to win silver medals in Paris in the 200-meter individual medley and the 100-meter breaststroke; a stellar performance for a 21-year-old in her first Paralympic Games.
In my book, Winning Life’s Gold Medal, I talk about the bomb going off in each of our lives. It is not a question of if the bomb will ignite, but rather when. The important part is how we deal with the bomb when it does go off. When Olivia’s bomb went off starting in 2019, no one could have dealt with it better than she did. For that, she deserves yet another gold medal.
Olivia, we are so proud of you and your representation of Team USA! Keep it going.
Yours in swimming,
Gary Sr.
Gary Hall, Sr., Technical Director and Head Coach of The Race Club (courtesy of TRC)
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Because Life is Worth Swimming, our mission is to promote swimming through sport, lifelong enjoyment, and good health benefits. Our objective is for each member of and each participant in The Race Club to improve his or her swimming performances, health, and self-esteem through our educational programs, services and creativity. We strive to help each member of The Race Club overcome challenges and reach his or her individual life goals.
The Race Club provides facilities, coaching, training, technical instruction, video, fitness and health programs for swimmers of all ages and abilities. Race Club swim camps are designed and tailored to satisfy each swimmer’s needs, whether one is trying to reach the Olympic Games or simply improve one’s fitness. Our programs are suitable for beginner swimmers, pleasure swimmers, fitness swimmers, USA swimming or YMCA swimmers, or triathletes; anyone who wants to improve swimming skills. All of our Race Club members share an enjoyment of being in the water and use swimming to stimulate a more active mind and body.