 Dara Torres is arguably the fastest female swimmer
in America. She entered her first international swimming competition at age 14
and competed in her first Olympics a few years later in 1984. She went on to
compete in the 1988, 1992 and 2000 Olympics, medaling each time. Four months
after the birth of her daughter Tessa in 2006, she began training again for the
Olympics.
At age 41, Dara became the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics at the
Beijing Games in 2008. She went on to win three silver medals, one in the 50m
free and the others swimming anchor in the 4x100m free relay and the 4x100m
medley relays. In total, she has won 12 medals in her Olympic career.
Her impressive performance in Beijing has inspired many older athletes to
consider re-entering competition, including cyclist Lance Armstrong. Torres
herself has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. She’s announced plans
to compete in the 2009 world swimming competition in Rome, and has not entirely
ruled out entering the 2012 London Olympics.
The first female athlete to grace the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Dara
Torres has also appeared as a commentator on such networks as Fox News, ESPN and
the Discovery Channel. Her memoir, Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At
Any Stage In Your Life, was published in April and was listed as one of the top
25 best-selling business books in the month of June 2009.
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