Dara Torres-Amazing

Dan, You assume a lot of rational thought in the mind of a cheater. It's not all about weighing the risk for them, its about the winning, the ego, the acceptance, the public recognition......etc...... Is her freestyle stroke great...... hell yes. I could probably point out a few flaws in the race, but they are easily overcome by her upper body strength in her stroke. The issue was never whether she was or is talented. The issue on this thread is........... "the edge". I don't know..... sometimes I wonder what is to be gained by making 5 Olympic teams vs. 4 Olympic teams ? John Smith If I assume rational thought aren't you assuming the opposite? I tend to think that a cheater who openly invites more frequent testing than required has rationally assessed the risk. Those who believe Lance cheated think he did it with the help of the mysterious Dr. Ferrari - confident enough to withstand multiple out of competition tests and a required test for every stage win? Lance is perhaps one of the most driven and competitive athletes of modern times but his method of training and preparation was surely VERY rational. I don't think there is any evidence that Dara is irrational. All signs are that she sets goals and works hard to achieve them. Her training today (less is more?) has been modified to create explosive speed, take advantage of her stroke and size, and minimize the risk of injury (e.g. overuse). As for 5 Olympics vs. 4 - I would never question nor care why that is important to Dara as long as she is competing fairly.

Dan, You assume a lot of rational thought in the mind of a cheater. It's not all about weighing the risk for them, its about the winning, the ego, the acceptance, the public recognition......etc...... Is her freestyle stroke great...... hell yes. I could probably point out a few flaws in the race, but they are easily overcome by her upper body strength in her stroke. The issue was never whether she was or is talented. The issue on this thread is........... "the edge". I don't know..... sometimes I wonder what is to be gained by making 5 Olympic teams vs. 4 Olympic teams ? John Smith If I assume rational thought aren't you assuming the opposite? I tend to think that a cheater who openly invites more frequent testing than required has rationally assessed the risk. Those who believe Lance cheated think he did it with the help of the mysterious Dr. Ferrari - confident enough to withstand multiple out of competition tests and a required test for every stage win? Lance is perhaps one of the most driven and competitive athletes of modern times but his method of training and preparation was surely VERY rational. I don't think there is any evidence that Dara is irrational. All signs are that she sets goals and works hard to achieve them. Her training today (less is more?) has been modified to create explosive speed, take advantage of her stroke and size, and minimize the risk of injury (e.g. overuse). As for 5 Olympics vs. 4 - I would never question nor care why that is important to Dara as long as she is competing fairly.