Dara Torres is 41 years old and has qualified to represent the U.S. at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The talented swimmer first competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and has also competed in 1988, 1992 and 2000. The majority of competitors on this years U.S. team were not yet born when she embarked on her first Olympic competition.
The aging athlete has won a total of nine Olympic medals including four gold. Five of the medals came to her during the Sydney Games, when she was the oldest member of the team at age 33. She battled bulimia during her first two Olympics but says that is well behind her now. She has learned not to deprive herself of anything she craves.
The highly motivated swimmer uses a combination of weight machines, free weights and floor exercise in her training plan. She also pays for the services of a head coach, sprint coach, strength coach, 2 stretchers, 2 masseuses, a chiropractor and a nanny. The yearly tab is around $100,000 per year.
Torres will compete in the 50 meter freestyle, the 4 x100 medley relay and the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. She had planned to also compete in the 100 meter freestyle but pulled out in early July in order to focus on the 50 meter event.
Just one year ago, on August 1, 2007, at age 40, Torres won gold in the 100 meter free style at the U.S. Nationals. Three days later she broke her own record twice in the 50 meter freestyle – 26 years after she first set the record at age 15.
Dara twice retired from competition in the past two years. The first time was in 2006 when she gave birth to her daughter. The second time was a break that started in late 2007 and went into early 2008 when she underwent shoulder and knee surgeries.
Born in Jupiter, Florida, Torres is the fifth of six children. Twice divorced, she lives with her partner, physician David Hoffman, and their young daughter Tessa Grace.
There will be a total of 596 athletes representing the U.S. at Beijing, 310 men and 286 women, competing in 27 sports. Expect the hype surrounding Dara Torres to be hot and heavy. Hers is truly an amazing story of motivation and physical conditioning.
Check out more photos below. Also, check out Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh here. They are defending their Athens Gold at Beijing in beach volleyball.
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