Water Can Be Just As Thick as Blood

Greg York, the sisters' year-round coach, said it is the kind of tragedy that feels universal. "You don't need to know Olivia, you don't need to know Carly to be supportive, because there are hundreds of Olivias and hundreds of Carlys at every practice, and it could strike any one of us at any time," he said.

Then there is the memory of Olivia herself: "Liv," a bright, high-spirited girl who was a Junior Olympic qualifier for her backstroke but also the upbeat social butterfly of her group. She was at every pep rally and sock hop and bowling party -- the kind of kid who, no matter how tired, laughed with friends and did belly-flops when practice ended.

Her parents recall Olivia as a "young" 14, a girl who so loved Christmas that they played holiday music at her funeral, who still had Care Bears and Hello Kitty trinkets and was just starting to wear makeup, who plastered her bedroom walls with photos of pop star Miley Cyrus.

"Olivia had all the personality in the world," said York, her coach at the York Swim Club, who was leading practice on the day of her death.

Next month, she would have started ninth grade at Chantilly High School, where a shed near the football practice field has been painted: "We Love You Liv" and "We'll Aullways Remember." Olivia had joined the cross-country team and had plans to join the Chantilly swim team in the winter.

There is also a deep well of support for Carly, the quieter, more serious sister, a distinguished swimmer on three teams and a dedicated student who was Olivia's guiding force, her mother said. "It's nothing but an accident," Mary Ellen Aull said. "It could happen to any of us."

Police say Carly Aull was driving a Nissan Altima "well above" the 30 mph speed limit as she approached the 3600 block of Jermantown Road that still-dark morning. Speed and driver inexperience were factors in the crash, said Officer Jeff Morrison of the Fairfax City Police. Carly had had her driver's license a couple of months, her parents said.

At the place on Jermantown Road where Carly lost control, just after a curve, there is little margin for error. The utility pole she hit is just beyond the paved traffic lane, with no curb in between.

The site is now marked by a small white cross that reads "Olivia."

Pre-dawn practice is routine for many year-round competitive swim teams, who use the pool in off-hours, when space is more widely available. In the Washington region, 8,000 youths are year-round competitive swimmers, and some of the summer leagues are among the nation's largest.

"You know it could've been your kid," said Steve Duesterhaus, a swim team official at the Greenbriar summer pool at which the Aull girls were members. "Just imagining what the Aulls are going through. . . . People want to do something. They so desperately want to do something."

Olivia's friends helped her family choose what to put in her coffin: a Hannah Montana CD, Harry Potter novels, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" books, an Archie comic book, her favorite "Gilmore Girls" episode, peanut M&Ms, a Barbie doll, a Care Bear, a Maryland Terps jersey and a Ravens cap -- and her swim gear from the Greenbriar and York teams.