Since undergoing a 10-hour back surgery in 2017, local paraplegic athlete Jordan Oliver has been making strides to overcome her disabilities.
Oliver has been on the hearts of many since she was injured in an automobile accident in April 2011. Since then, she has become the only wheelchair athlete in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
The surgery in 2017 was to install spinal rods from Jordan’s neck to pelvis due neuromuscular scoliosis. The surgery went well, but Jordan’s recovery was far from ideal.
“Her body did not respond well,” said Jordan’s mother, Kristie Oliver. “She coded three times in the hospital.”
It was later determined that her body was in autonomic dysreflexia, a condition that causes a sudden onset of excessively high blood pressure. This condition is more common in those with spinal cord injuries above T6, which Jordan has.
In May 2020, after many things in the world was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan learned both rods had broken in her back. The cause of the break is still unknown. In April, another checkup revealed the rod was broken in another spot.
“We were very concerned that she would have to undergo surgery for new rods,” Jordan’s mother said. “However, the doctor stated that her back was still the same from a year ago, and encouraged her to continue with track and Crossfit since they were helping to keep her muscles strong.”
Jordan watched her older sister, Kelia, compete as a thrower for both the Murphy High School and Brevard College team track and field teams, and she wanted to be like her sister.
“The N.C. High School Athletic Association recognizes wheelchair athletes for track and field as their own event,” Kristie Oliver said. “Their standards are different than the traditional athlete.”
She said wheelchair events are given a standard they must meet to qualify for participation in the state championship. For wheelchair shot-put, a girl thrower must throw beyond 6 feet; in wheelchair discus, the girl thrower must throw beyond 8 feet.
Jordan is the first wheelchair athlete in the Smoky Mountain Conference and Western Region. She is ranked nationally in both shot-put and discus.
“She hopes to open the path for more wheelchair athletes in our area,” Oliver said. “Her teammates at Murphy as well as other athletes from local teams have been very supportive and encourage Jordan in practices and meets.”
Oliver added that Jordan’s coaches have been a positive influence on her daughter.
“Coach Nikol Edwards and Tracy Kephart have been helping to make this all happen since Jordan was in middle school,” Oliver said. “Coaches Johnson and Raxter, along with the Murphy High track team, have continued to help Jordan.”
Oliver said Jordan also participates in Crossfit Teens and monthly Faith Rx’d Workouts, which she started last summer. Jordan works out twice per week when track isn’t in season.
Jordan competed Friday morning at the state 1A Track & Field Championship at Truist Stadium at A&T State University in Greensboro. Her best shot-put throw came at the Smoky Mountain Conference Championship, when she threw 8 feet, 1 inch. Her best discus throw came at the state meet, where she threw 18 feet, according to girls track and field coach Penny Johnson.
She finished second in both the discus and shot-put at the state championship.
“After the meet, it finally clicked with her why, after all these years, Kelia and her friends kept trying to go to state,” Kristie Oliver said. “The support she has gotten the last few days has really motivated her, she never really understood how big of a deal competing at a state meet was until she did it.”
Johnson said Jordan has worked hard all yea, which is evident in her results.
“Jordan has improved each and every meet throughout the season and she has done a great job for being a freshman and throwing on such a big stage,” Johnson said. “The state championship can be very intimidating, but Jordan stayed focused on what she needed to do throughout the long day.
“Our goals for her are for her to continue to get stronger and work on her throwing technique so that next year she can win not only one, but two state championships in shot-put and discus.”
Oliver is already optimistic about next season and has ordered the supplies she needs to practice in the off-season. She is excited to start practicing for indoor track and is interested in doing the wheelchair 55-meter dash for indoor track with a racing chair.