Dara just one the national title in the 100M Freestyle in 54.4 at the ripe old age of 40. Simply Incredible. :applaud: :woot:
If that's not inspiring I don't know what is.
Looking at other individual sports (Cross country skiing, cycling, track & field, rowing, tennis) it is possible to find Olympians in their 40s. The amazing - disturbing - part of the story is the 6 year break. I believe that a similar comeback was made in speed skating where Dr. Erhard Keller (Olympic champion 68 - 72) managed to duplicate his previous best time over 500m at the age of 38 or 39 after having taking a break of many years. Here we have a roughly similar story from the past, except that the good doctor's best time was not competitive anymore when he posted it.
And there are a handful of athletes who have switched sports but continued to compete at the Olympic level. Take Sheila Taormina, for example:
1996 Olympics (age 27): Gold in swimming (Women's 4x200 relay)
2000 Olympics (age 31): 6th place, triathlon
2004 Olympics (age 35): 23rd place, triathlon (she also won the ITU World Championship title that year)
2008 Olympics (age 39): trying to make the Olympic team in modern pentathlon (épée fencing, pistol shooting, 200 m freestyle swimming, a show jumping course on horseback, and a cross-country run)
Looking at other individual sports (Cross country skiing, cycling, track & field, rowing, tennis) it is possible to find Olympians in their 40s. The amazing - disturbing - part of the story is the 6 year break. I believe that a similar comeback was made in speed skating where Dr. Erhard Keller (Olympic champion 68 - 72) managed to duplicate his previous best time over 500m at the age of 38 or 39 after having taking a break of many years. Here we have a roughly similar story from the past, except that the good doctor's best time was not competitive anymore when he posted it.
And there are a handful of athletes who have switched sports but continued to compete at the Olympic level. Take Sheila Taormina, for example:
1996 Olympics (age 27): Gold in swimming (Women's 4x200 relay)
2000 Olympics (age 31): 6th place, triathlon
2004 Olympics (age 35): 23rd place, triathlon (she also won the ITU World Championship title that year)
2008 Olympics (age 39): trying to make the Olympic team in modern pentathlon (épée fencing, pistol shooting, 200 m freestyle swimming, a show jumping course on horseback, and a cross-country run)
