What is it like to have been in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles or the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea? How about the 1992 Games in Barcelona or the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia? If you want to know, you can ask just one 2008 Beijing Olympian – 41 year old American swimmer Dara Torres.
Dara will be the first swimmer to appear in five Olympic Games when she competes this week in Beijing in the 50 meter freestyle, the 4 x 100 medley relay, and the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. In her four previous Olympic Games, Dara has won eight medals, of which four are gold.
At 6”, 149 pounds with blonde hair, Dara has also been singled out for her beauty, being the first athlete to pose alongside models in the famed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. But Dara has seen her share of difficulty through her career. When she was in college, she struggled with bulimia and took five long years to recover. She has also been through two divorces and had to undergo five knee surgeries. She also been rocked with accusations of steroid use, although she has voluntarily taken 13 drug tests since March of this year – all came back clean.
Dara originally retired from swimming at the age of 25 because she felt she was too old to compete anymore. She came out of retirement seven years later to win five medals at the Sydney games (her story is documented in the book “Gold in the Water”), and then retire again. So what would inspire this Olympian to continue swimming so late in her career? Dara had her first child, Tessa, in April 2006 and says she is motivated to continue so her daughter will not only be proud of her, but know that age is no limit for your dreams.
Dara manages to stay in shape by concentrating on stretching, massage, and weight lifting. She still hits the pool for two hours a day, five days a week and the gym for an hour and half, four days a week.
Dara’s advice for 40 somethings? “I just want to show those 40-year-olds that age is just a number and go out there and have fun.”