Olivia Peoples: 3-Time State Champion, UF Commit
A student-athlete who knows what she wants: success — and that is exactly what Olivia Peoples has achieved during her 8 years of swimming.
The high school senior attends Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida. She swims for Nease High School during the high school swim season and during the club season, she trains with The Bolles School in their club arm.
Peoples competes in the 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke, and sprint freestyle. She told ITG Next that the Butterfly is her strongest event.
As a freshman and sophomore, she won the 100 breaststroke at a 3A state meet. As a junior, Nease moved up to Class 4A for the state’s biggest schools and Peoples won the 100 fly title and finished second for the 100 breaststroke.
Peoples has a rare combination of talents in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke. Her best times in both races come from the 2019 4A State Championship preliminary round where she swam 52.73 in the 100 butterfly to break the state record and 1:01:94 in the 100 breaststroke.
Despite being such a successful swimmer, People’s has faced challenges during her career. “Starting late sophomore year, I was having some respiratory issues,” she said. “I battled with this for a long time. I couldn’t train like I used to and struggled with the longer events which caused me to lose a lot of love for the sport,” she told us.
That didn’t stop her. Her coaches got creative and switched up her training and event lineup: putting her in the 100 butterfly. “[It is] something I’m very grateful for since it opened so many opportunities for me,” she said – such as committing to the University of Florida (UF).
Read more of her story in ITG Next Florida High School Sports Magazine November 2020 here for FREE!
