Erin Gleason

Speedskating

The phone rang. Erin Gleason picked it up. By the time she had put it down Monday night, her mind was reeling with one more round of horrific news, one more reason to wonder when the emotional onslaught would end.

She is 20 years old, from Jackson, N.J. Her voice was barely audible as she spoke about Clark (C.J.) Ferry, a close friend and classmate from Jackson Memorial High School, who was killed over the weekend.

Ferry, 21, had gone out with friends and, according to authorities, was walking on the southbound side of Route 9 in Marlboro, N.J., about 3:30 a.m. Saturday when he was hit by a truck.

C.J. Ferry had much more in common with Erin Gleason than a hometown. He, too, shared an Olympic dream, having been a member of the U.S. bobsled developmental team for three years. Bobsled had become his passion, and Salt Lake City in 2002 was his goal.

Ferry’s tragic death is only the latest in a series of trials Erin Gleason has had to cope with. Last May, her boyfriend, Orazio Fagone, the former world record-holding speedskater for Italy, was in a near-fatal motorcycle accident that required the amputation of his right leg. She also lost both of her grandfathers, and learned that her mother, Mary, was suffering from a rare muscle and nerve disorder.

Gleason herself had a career-threatening spinal injury in 1996 when she crashed into a wall, and could scarcely run or jump for six months.

Now she is scheduled to compete in the 500 meters, the 1,000 and the 3,000-meter relay.

She has one more tragedy to fight back from. Off of past history, you have to like her chances no matter how hard she wishes the phone had never rung on Monday night.