Dara Torres-Amazing

Here is the quote that got me (from the NYT article on Torres): Driving home one night from a sushi dinner, Torres’s partner, David Hoffman, admitted that he’ll be relieved when Torres emerges from her Olympic training tunnel. “We don’t spend as much time together,” he told me as he idled his car outside their home. “We can’t go on a vacation.” Torres had driven home separately with Tessa. Hoffman watched the swimmer standing in their driveway at dusk, her mind clearly turned toward getting Tessa to bed, so that she could get nine hours of sleep herself. “I can’t wait until this is over,” Hoffman sighed. “It’ll have been two years.” Surely one doesn't have to be a diehard conservative (which I definitely am not) to be just a little turned off by this? As inspirational as her feats have been, DT had nothing left to prove. She's already been to the Olympics 4 times... I think athletes are a bit like professional dancers, in that there's a shelf life on their careers and they have to do what it is they do while they still can. If her partner is pouting a bit now, well, I'm sure he'll be happy to share in the glory if she wins a medal. Do we ever hear from the wives/girlfriends of male olympic hopefuls about how they feel about all their husbands/boyfriends training? No, because it's just assumed that the little woman is going to be the one to put up with it and do the sacrificing. I don't think any athlete sets out deciding to be a role model. In fact, I doubt they really care what people think, they just want to do their sport.

Here is the quote that got me (from the NYT article on Torres): Driving home one night from a sushi dinner, Torres’s partner, David Hoffman, admitted that he’ll be relieved when Torres emerges from her Olympic training tunnel. “We don’t spend as much time together,” he told me as he idled his car outside their home. “We can’t go on a vacation.” Torres had driven home separately with Tessa. Hoffman watched the swimmer standing in their driveway at dusk, her mind clearly turned toward getting Tessa to bed, so that she could get nine hours of sleep herself. “I can’t wait until this is over,” Hoffman sighed. “It’ll have been two years.” Surely one doesn't have to be a diehard conservative (which I definitely am not) to be just a little turned off by this? As inspirational as her feats have been, DT had nothing left to prove. She's already been to the Olympics 4 times... I think athletes are a bit like professional dancers, in that there's a shelf life on their careers and they have to do what it is they do while they still can. If her partner is pouting a bit now, well, I'm sure he'll be happy to share in the glory if she wins a medal. Do we ever hear from the wives/girlfriends of male olympic hopefuls about how they feel about all their husbands/boyfriends training? No, because it's just assumed that the little woman is going to be the one to put up with it and do the sacrificing. I don't think any athlete sets out deciding to be a role model. In fact, I doubt they really care what people think, they just want to do their sport.