This article appeared in the Deseret News, a Utah newspaper. Nice article about a great person.
"They told her she wouldn't make the team.
Obviously, they didn't know Jillian Camarena-Williams very well.
"She's a hard worker, and I think whatever she does or whatever she puts her mind to, I think she's going to accomplish it because she's not someone that's going to give up," Craig Carter, Camarena-Williams' coach of six years, said.
As the 2010 U.S. champion in both indoor and outdoor shot put and assistant shot put coach at BYU, there is no doubt that Camarena-Williams is persistent, not only in her sport but also in her personal relationships and LDS faith.
Born in Woodland, Calif., Camarena-Williams began throwing shot put in the seventh grade at the encouragement of her brother, who was the high school record holder. Although she had played other sports as well, Camarena-Williams became dedicated exclusively to shot put when college offers began to appear.
Since graduating from Stanford University in 2004, Camarena-Williams has made shot put into a career. She has earned multiple titles, including two U.S. outdoor championships and six indoor championships in the last six years.
The road to her national titles has not been without its bumps.
Camarena-Williams endured back pain most of her life, but it finally caught up with her after the 2008 world indoor track championships in Spain — right before the U.S. trials for the Beijing Olympics. "I got back and that next week I herniated a disc, so I was not doing well at all," Camarena-Williams said. "As soon as that happened, basically everyone I talked to said, 'You won't be making the Olympics. There's no way.'"
Instead of succumbing to discouragement, Camarena-Williams researched her options, prayed and made a decision. "You wouldn't think that a month before the Olympic trial that you would want to have back surgery, but I had a strong comfort that was the way to go," Camarena-Williams said. "I ended up having back surgery and made the team."
Not only did she make the team but she also gained valuable experience. "Through hard work, blessings and the things she believes in, with faith, that she was able to come back even stronger and better and more focused because of the injury," Carter said.
Although her faith in the gospel was invaluable in her time of need, relying on the Lord is a common practice for Camarena-Williams.
"She keeps her priorities in check. It's easy to see that the church and her faith in Jesus Christ is her number one priority, and then training and those things," Dustin Williams, Camarena-Williams' husband and athletic trainer, said.
Carter believes that Camarena-Williams has the four aspects that make a solid athlete: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, which many athletes may not have.
The Word of Wisdom is one facet of her spirituality. Although Carter said it might give her an advantage during competition, Camarena-Williams does not partake of any illegal or harming substances.
Camarena-Williams also recognizes the value of having a husband who is able to assist her in and out of competition.
"(With my) surgery and knee problems, just to have someone that can not only fix me because of what (Dustin) does as an athletic trainer, but he can also give me blessings and things like that. Just to have that is a pretty powerful combination," Camarena-Williams said.
That combination is one of the things Camarena-Williams hopes will help her reach her goal of participating in the 2012 Olympics in London.
"I think she wants to medal, and I believe that is a very good possibility if she can stay healthy and stay focused and I can help her and her husband can help her," Carter said. "I think that we've got a good team and that hopefully we can bring home a medal from the 2012 Olympics."
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