By Katherine Tarbox, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Twelve-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres left the attendees of the NAR 2010 Leadership Summit speechless when she announced that on Monday she entered the pool for the first time in months after recent knee surgery, and that her “heart is in it” to try for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. If she succeeds, she’ll be the oldest swimmer to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team at the age of 45.
Torres has waged two successful comebacks in the sport after taking seven years off after the 1992 Barcelona games followed by another hiatus after the 2000 Sydney games. At each of the five Olympics she’s raced in (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008), she took home at least one gold. Her 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was hailed as a heroic comeback, one that shows athletes — or anyone who competes — shouldn’t feel pushed out because of their age. “When you dive in the water, it doesn’t know how old you are, just how fast you swim.”
In spite of her many triumphs, she hasn’t lost her competitive edge. After Torres squinted at the leaderboard following the 50-meter freestyle at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (because of her eyesight not being what it used to be), she realized she lost the race by one hundredth of a second, a defeat that stays with her. “I’m not OK with not winning,” she said. However, she added that, “We’re not obligated to win, but we are obligated to keep trying.”
That hunger is what has Torres trying for her sixth Olympic games. She also believes that to succeed in anything you need to put together a team with a common goal of winning. “Commit and surround yourself with people who want to succeed.”
That’s wonderful news. I know Dara can do it. I thought she did win that race in 2008!