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How Dara Torres Succeeds as an Athlete at 41

newsweek.com — No. 1: Get off your butt.At 41. Swimmer Dara Torres just qualified for her fifth Olympic Games. Since she made her Olympic debut in 1984, Torres has won nine medals, including four golds. The problem is most people stop training, so you're both aging and becoming more sedentary. That's what happens to most of us.

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  • magicjohnson, on 07/08/2008, -15/+11steroids imo
    • JoaoPe, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1You're a guy with good opinions. Congratulations sir.
  • mustafya, on 07/08/2008, -13/+9+ blood doping, steroids, HGH etc etc
  • sultanknish, on 07/08/2008, -2/+13good article, hard work is what works in the end
    • xOKxWhy, on 07/09/2008, -2/+4But in the end, it doesn't even matter
    • goleopards1, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1No Olympic athlete has a lack of hard work. Determination doesn't build muscles. Keeping active as you age just makes you healthy, not an Olympian. Simply put: in today's age you can't trust these heart warming stories, at 41 year old Olympic swimmer is too good to be true
  • kirb59y, on 07/08/2008, -0/+13Also, being 6' tall with big feet doesn't hurt.
  • petsheep, on 07/08/2008, -2/+9Training, determination and good genes
    • goleopards1, on 07/09/2008, -1/+4Untraceable steroids, million dollar trainers, being in a sport that no American cares about 3 out of 4 years...
  • LinkGCN4, on 07/09/2008, -2/+15MILF.
  • forceuser, on 07/09/2008, -2/+5I read that as "How Dare Torres Succeed as an Athlete at 41".
  • ILoveBoobies, on 07/09/2008, -1/+9I'd Doggie Paddle her ;)
    • aabernathy, on 07/09/2008, -2/+10screen name FTW
      • Gr1nch, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1kudos on picking that up. It made the comment digg-able IMO.
      • ILoveBoobies, on 07/09/2008, -1/+0Thanks, it was either that or ILoveBeer ;)

        Cheers!
  • aabernathy, on 07/09/2008, -0/+7Staying active = Staying young
    • leffunov, on 07/09/2008, -1/+2Unfortunately that is not exactly true. Faster metabolism within the bodies of professional athletes actually ages the cells at a higher pace. The key is that her diet keeps her body healthy and extremely limits the damage of aging and constant muscle repair.
      • jimmies, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2"Faster metabolism within the bodies of professional athletes actually ages the cells at a higher pace"

        Proof?
  • footodors, on 07/09/2008, -3/+7You mean there's no US female swimmer in their teens, 20's or 30's who can beat a 41 year old mother in 2 high profile events?
    Female swimming ain't too deep is it?
    • HUKI365, on 07/09/2008, -2/+5Yep and your asses are gonna get whooped by Libby nee Lenton and all her friends in China.

      Man I love Australia sport around Olympics time!
    • Rmo4, on 07/09/2008, -2/+5While the US only has 6 female swimming world records to Australia's 9, they are still the dominant swimming nation with respect to the men. The US holds 11 men's swimming world records while Australia holds only 4. Also, with respect to the olympics in general, the US has racked up 895 gold medals in the modern era summer olympic games, while Australia has won only 117 (besides the US, there are 11 other countries with more medals won than Australia). So yeah...I love US sport around Olympics time :)
      • footodors, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1yea!!
      • dopplerdog, on 07/09/2008, -2/+2US population: 300M
        Aus population: 20M

        By anyone's standards, the US should have 15 times the number of sports successes as Australia. Anything less than that indicates the US just isn't doing as well.

    • phoobahr, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1Just now there's only 3 or 4 women in the world who have performed anywhere at anytime in the last year faster than Dara. Swimming is one of the most populous sports in the world, we're just not sure if Dara's human.
      • dadioflex, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1China only had a poor showing at the last Olympics because they announced new doping checks, China will pwn everyone at these Games because they've had time to prepare.
  • laseractive, on 07/09/2008, -10/+7Succeeding in your 40s is easy in today's sports world. HGH and Steroids even the playing field in pretty much every sport.
    • dadioflex, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1Dugg down because?...

      It's true. You do well in sport then you get management and access to the best drugs and doping regimes. Most of these sports guys only fail because they start to believe their own hype and run off the rails straight over a cliff. This is why so many of these sportsmen go bankrupt - they're financing entire laboratories worth of retainers.
  • deusny, on 07/09/2008, -5/+0but can she.. swim crysis?
  • footodors, on 07/09/2008, -2/+5her boyfriend is an edicronologist, as in hormone specialist...hmmm...
  • KaiSe7eN, on 07/09/2008, -1/+7How Diggers Fail At All Ages.
  • basye, on 07/09/2008, -1/+3That's good she's voluntarily signed up for more stringent drug testing, but the woman has always been a natural swimming machine. Good luck, Dana!!
  • CaptObvious, on 07/09/2008, -1/+2It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
  • welliwonder, on 07/09/2008, -4/+4realistically, probably working out and drug use. ;)
  • Devotia, on 07/09/2008, -1/+2Well after doing moQ'bara and d'Har for the better part of 4 decades, swimming must be a walk in the park.

    Oh, Dara Torres.
  • Stormwern, on 07/09/2008, -1/+3Klingon relatives obviously ^^ (B'Elanna)
  • bartolommeff, on 07/09/2008, -2/+1I find the feat to be amazing but Chris Chelios, 46, defenseman for Detroit Red Wings has that beat. Having said that, I hope to be half of what even Dara is at 40.
  • bjj5000, on 07/09/2008, -5/+3The only guys who are probably most likely right are hidden. She's got bigger muscles then most twenty year men who work out everyday. She's a woman (meaning low testosterone) and older so probably has little to no testosterone. Something unnatural is definitely helping her stay in shape most likely HGH.
  • pdizz, on 07/09/2008, -3/+3She also spends over $100,000 on personal trainers. If your rich you can buy success
    • vinny, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1Yeah, just paying a personal trainer gets you in shape. Easy really.

      Are you serious?
  • XombieRobot, on 07/09/2008, -3/+6steroids
  • BigRedCube, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2there is a 52 year old in the NZ team
  • tonyteetime, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1you go girl ! you are only as old as you feel.
    • dopplerdog, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1you're only as old as the girl you feel?
  • footodors, on 07/09/2008, -2/+3There's an 86 yr old on the Elbonian National Team
    • dadioflex, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1And people are asking whether he's ready for international competition yet.
  • kookbutt, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2She has XXY chromosomes.
  • Zlorp, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2its true, if you live the lifestyle you can stay in good shape well into your 40's and beyond. just look at people like MMA fighter Randy Couture. He's almost 45 yet hes still a top contender in one of the most strenuous sports that exists.
    • dadioflex, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2Randy Couture is awesome. BUT he couldn't cut it in the 205 class anymore and only won the HW belt because the UFC's HW roster at the time was FU. At 205 Randy would be ground under the heel of anyone in the top 20. The HW field is still crap and he could still compete there. Nobody wants to go there though because it's a mess.

      Remember that the UFC is as managed as the WWE when it comes to making the fights. Keith Jardine has been the top contender for over a year and never got a shot. It's a rodeo. It doesn't matter who's good it only matters who has the attention.
      • Zlorp, on 07/10/2008, -0/+1jardine isnt a contender, the only thing he did was beat Liddell after Rampage took the belt. Right now Lyoto Machida should be next in line. Also, beating Tim Sylvia is no walk in the park, while i agree that the UFC HW division is pretty much non-existent at this point in time, Tim Sylvia is a good fighter.
  • Bcodms, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2Her six pack abs should be on the obverse of the 2008 Olympic Gold Commemorative coins.
  • Mahoney07, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2"What happens in the 40s that makes you start declining in athletic ability?
    There is an aging curve, and it starts around 40. Every decade after that, extra pieces fall off. After age 60, aerobic capacity really drops off. Somewhere out about 60, it just seems like the motor doesn't work as well. "

    Your motor doesn't work well? With a question like that I expected a real answer.
  • TheMooCow, on 07/09/2008, -4/+2Everyone knows that all Yank competitors are drug cheats
    • Narcolepticon, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1everyone knows that europeans are all bitter at US dominance because they haven't been relevant since the 18th century
  • Kinglouis3, on 07/09/2008, -5/+2Dara Torres will probably win a number of gold medals in the Olympics and she'll earn through hard work just like Marion Jones did in the 2000 Olympics......right?
  • Daiken, on 07/09/2008, -0/+3Having good genes does wonders.
  • goleopards1, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1Rodger Clemens won Cy Youngs after he 40 years old...its the training right?
    • username7410, on 07/09/2008, -0/+0If by training you me steroids, then yes.
  • charlietuna, on 07/09/2008, -0/+4However she does it, I hope it involves lots of sex with many partners. MILF city.
  • goleopards1, on 07/09/2008, -1/+1Roger Clemens winning Cy Youngs after age 40...its all about staying active right? Steroids keeps you stronger longer.
  • BradBrown, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2Human Growth Hormone - it's not brain surgery. Look at that photo - she's got a bigger package than Ron Jeremy.
    • dadioflex, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1Where to start...


      Steroids make Miss Pinky grow into a ickle dinky, If you've ever dated a female bodybuilder it's not a question of finding her clitoris, it's a question of not comparing it to your dick.

      HGH makes bone and muscle grow. It give users a bloated look. The last thing a swimmer need is more bone mass. Cue the black vs white swim debate...

      IF she's using she's using for muscle repair.

      I could care less. Let them use what they want. It's already an unfair competition (through genes) so why not just go all the way.
  • username7410, on 07/09/2008, -0/+0"In the old Soviet days, there were reports of swimmers who were forced to get pregnant and then abort because the theory was that pregnancy hormones made them stronger. Could pregnancy actually make women physically stronger?"

    Say... WHAAAA!!!???
  • Arghblarg, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1Wow, she should donate her genes to cloning projects. She's got the 40's Sci-fi uebermensch down-pat.
    • dadioflex, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1She can ubermensch me until the mech-cows come home...
  • Eric3k, on 07/09/2008, -0/+0All swimmers look like Torres... you should have seen the Chinese swim team years before and the East German team. You know dirty when you see it. She is ripped... they all are. They are not huge tho. What amazes me is after 30 yrs of swimming she has survived the boredom of swimming laps for practice. At least runners and bikers can look around.
  • caponumen, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1Some of us have real jobs.....
  • Boofster, on 07/09/2008, -0/+2You mean that's not a guy?

    I call for a boob check. Oh wait what boobs?
  • robbiedo, on 07/10/2008, -1/+1For all you naysayers, could it just be possible that she is someone special? You can't compete at that level, no matter what your age, unless you have the talent and drive to be the best.
  • Libertarian4321, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2We all want to believe the fairy tale, don't we?

    EMOTIONALLY we wanted to believe Mark McGwire could crank out more home runs in his mid 30's than he did at 25 because he was a "good guy."

    We wanted to believe Roger Clemens could still win Cy Young awards well into his 40s because he had "good genes" and a great "work ethic."

    Even when a jerk like Barry Bonds started cranking out more home runs than ever in his late 30's and 40s, a lot of Americans cheered for him (we love a winner, even if that winner is a first class jerk).

    Now, we are supposed to believe an athlete is a FAR better swimmer at 41 than she was at 21 because she "stretches" and trains a lot?

    I'm not buying it, folks. I might be able to believe she could MAINTAIN her skills, but to VASTLY IMPROVE at that age? It just doesn't fit.

    She may not get caught. Heck, she may be using some designer 'roid or hormone that isn't even technically illegal. But this sure as heck isn't just "stretching and training," and I think that we all know it in the RATIONAL part of our mind.
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