Dara Torres-Amazing

It is human nature to reject anything outside the average as "not normal". But saying that the average person couldn't do it (without drugs/cheating) is not the same as saying it couldn't be done by someone on the freakish side of the range of human ability. Exactly. Swimming is still in its infantcy (sp?) WRT professionalism and the implications that it has for keeping people in the sport for longer periods. Most of the data for swimming comes from the fact that until very recently, it has been a sport for "the kids" - start early, retire early. As it becomes something more of a career option, we'll see people staying in longer and doing better, even as they age. Also, most people who swim past college or a little later have had poor access to good coaching, general support and the like. Yes, SOME post-college swimmers have the equivalent of the better college programs, but most don't. Again, as that changes, so too will times drop for older athletes. In the case of Ms. Torres, I'd like to think that she has used her ability (and $) to make this come true. True story: About 20 years ago (1988), I was coaching a women in racewalking who was just about 40 years old. One day she called me up and was very discouraged. She said that because of her age, that she'd never be able to beat her younger competitors and make the US national team. I asked her if she knew what the women's 10k walk record had been in 1968. She didn't, so I told her what it was. I then asked her what her recent best time was and it was faster than the world record had been 20 years before. I told her that if you could go back in time and tell the people in 1968 that in1988 a 40 year old would be faster than the 1968 world record, they would tell you it was impossible. I then told her that she would need to think and train 20 years ahead of her competitors. I changed her training to force her to do some things she thought impossible and she made the US national team into her 40's and then finally retired from competition once satisfied. (P.S. No PED's involved) Call me naive, but I think that Ms. Torres is thinking and training 20 years ahead of where we are now. -LBJ

It is human nature to reject anything outside the average as "not normal". But saying that the average person couldn't do it (without drugs/cheating) is not the same as saying it couldn't be done by someone on the freakish side of the range of human ability. Exactly. Swimming is still in its infantcy (sp?) WRT professionalism and the implications that it has for keeping people in the sport for longer periods. Most of the data for swimming comes from the fact that until very recently, it has been a sport for "the kids" - start early, retire early. As it becomes something more of a career option, we'll see people staying in longer and doing better, even as they age. Also, most people who swim past college or a little later have had poor access to good coaching, general support and the like. Yes, SOME post-college swimmers have the equivalent of the better college programs, but most don't. Again, as that changes, so too will times drop for older athletes. In the case of Ms. Torres, I'd like to think that she has used her ability (and $) to make this come true. True story: About 20 years ago (1988), I was coaching a women in racewalking who was just about 40 years old. One day she called me up and was very discouraged. She said that because of her age, that she'd never be able to beat her younger competitors and make the US national team. I asked her if she knew what the women's 10k walk record had been in 1968. She didn't, so I told her what it was. I then asked her what her recent best time was and it was faster than the world record had been 20 years before. I told her that if you could go back in time and tell the people in 1968 that in1988 a 40 year old would be faster than the 1968 world record, they would tell you it was impossible. I then told her that she would need to think and train 20 years ahead of her competitors. I changed her training to force her to do some things she thought impossible and she made the US national team into her 40's and then finally retired from competition once satisfied. (P.S. No PED's involved) Call me naive, but I think that Ms. Torres is thinking and training 20 years ahead of where we are now. -LBJ