Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres Shares How Age Is Just a Number
Ready, set, splash! Dara Torres, 57, knows a thing or two (scratch that: a thing or 12!) about what it means to overcome daunting obstacles and pursue her dreams, as she earned no less than a dozen Olympic medals, including 4 golds for Team USA. In fact, she enjoyed the longest career of any Olympic swimmer.
Torres' characteristic grit and determination were on full display at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, when, at the age of 41, she defied the odds — and the naysayers — to earn silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. The most impressive part? She did all of this after having given birth to her daughter only a year earlier. No wonder her teammates jokingly nicknamed her "Mom"! We can't think of a more impressive title. Well, maybe "Olympian" is a close second.
Here, the swimming icon talks about everything from how pregnancy literally made her stronger to why she believes she's in the best decade of her life — and how women in their 50s are just getting started.
Woman's World: You won three silver medals in 2008 at the age of 41 after giving birth only a year earlier. How did you find the drive?
Dara Torres: I remember hearing a lot of talk about how great and inspiring it would be if I made the Olympic team and how people wanted me to represent middle-aged women. But I thought, Can my body really still do this? Once I stopped doubting myself and got those negative thoughts out of my head, I told myself, “I’m going to show everyone that 40-year-olds can do it too! And I’m going to do it for [my daughter] Tess.”
Maybe it was a [post] pregnancy thing, but my joints felt looser, more flexible, and I was able to put on lean muscle. When people said I couldn’t do it, I thought, How dare they say that?! It only served to fuel me and I learned so much about myself: that I could transform negatives into positives. Looking back on my career, it's not necessarily about the medals — it's about the road and the journey. If there's one thing I want my daughter to take away from all of it, it's that you should never put limits on your dreams.
WW: Your dedication to women's health and fitness led you to partner with BOOST? High Protein Nutritional Drink. Can you talk a little about that?
Dara Torres: I was psyched to pair with BOOST and show women over 50 that they can still add muscle and stay fit — they just need the right nutrients. In fact, I remember when I was training for the Olympic Games in 2008, my strength coach said to me that I needed more protein. I would bring my protein drink to the pool with me when I trained, so it felt like a natural fit to partner with BOOST to launch BOOST Camp, an online destination for people 50+ looking to explore fitness and nutrition tips designed for their specific needs. With my swimming career behind me, I want to inspire my generation to not put an age limit on achieving their goals and to embrace modern aging in what I consider to be the best chapter of life. [Check out Torres' BOOST Camp workout below!]
For more stories of athletes overcoming the odds:
How to Conquer the Day According to Olympian and Breast Cancer-Survivor, Chaunté Lowe
