Dara Torres-Amazing

Or maybe she's demonstrating an effective alternate way to train, and that $100k worth of personal support staff actually buys something worthwhile. Things that make you go hmmmm??

Waterman, Yes, I would find it embarassing if our best 100m freestyler was a man in his 40s. It's somewhat amusing if you think about it. To even suggest that humans in their 40's are more athletic and equal or better suited than those in their mid 20's or early 30's is the basis for the entire Dara discussion. Some want to believe it.... some just don't. As for high yardage sprinters.... Garrett Weber-Gale puts in a lot of yardage for a sprinter and has a very impressive aerobic base. He does not do Dara workouts. John Smith

Isn't it nice to have any American female no matter what age to be close to other female sprinters in the world. Would it not be better to develop better young swimmers then to tear into older swimmers who are taking up the slack in the development of female swimmers. Why blame the older swimmers for the young swimmers failings.

Ken, Certainly, my opinion is no more valuable than anyone else's on the subjec as no one knows for sure. One can not deny the fact that drug testing simply does not catch all the cheaters these days. Test a 100 or a 1,000 times over. It doesn't matter if you're testing is inadequate or you're not testing for the right things. Marion said for years she never did drugs and was never caught. She and Balco have changed my opinion on certain elite level sport performances forever. Again, I just don't see it as a positive having a middle aged woman represent US women's swimming in the Games. I find it somewhat embarassing to our sport. John Smith

Very smooth on top, not choppy very good underwater power.

How can anyone still so readily and without question accept unbelievable accomplishments in sport as legitimate and untainted? GHJ and Neil Walker are pretty good swimmers, too. The same way some so readily and without hesitation, question any out of the ordinary accomplishment. Obviously since GHJ and Neil Walker couldn't make the Olympic Team, Torres must be cheating since she's eight years older than Hall Jr.

The same way you so readily and without hesitation, question any out of the ordinary accomplishment. Obviously since GHJ and Neil Walker couldn't make the Olympic Team, Torres must be cheating since she's eight years older than Hall Jr. "Torres must be cheating" What's really sad...and pathetic is when people respond in this manner..like Jansen and Geo as well...just because some QUESTION an otherworldly performance in sport. Its a legitimate question given the facts, given the increase in cheating going on all the way down to the junior high level (read about football in TX)...and most importantly that nothing like this has ever been achieved in sport. You can go ahead and bury your head in the sand and try and convince people that Dara's training is some amazing breakthrough...well here's a wake up call....Mike Bottom & Eddie Reece are a few years ahead of Dara's coach(s)....and GHJ has just as many if not more resources at his disposal than Dara and given his opportunity to make history himself you can rest assured he used all of them...Oh wait, he's never taken 2 x 7 year breaks in his training, hasn't twice radically reinvented his physique... Believe what ever you want to believe...but don't twist the words of those of us who question

Maybe someone will qualify for Trials at 50 next time around. Now that is a story - a member of AARP????? I'll even include anyone with spousal benefits ("AARP by Marriage"? I just love love love "Smith by Marriage"!!)

"Torres must be cheating" What's really sad...and pathetic is when people respond in this manner..like Jansen and Geo as well...just because some QUESTION an otherworldly performance in sport. Its a legitimate question given the facts, given the increase in cheating going on all the way down to the junior high level (read about football in TX)...and most importantly that nothing like this has ever been achieved in sport. You can go ahead and bury your head in the sand and try and convince people that Dara's training is some amazing breakthrough...well here's a wake up call....Mike Bottom & Eddie Reece are a few years ahead of Dara's coach(s)....and GHJ has just as many if not more resources at his disposal than Dara and given his opportunity to make history himself you can rest assured he used all of them...Oh wait, he's never taken 2 x 7 year breaks in his training, hasn't twice radically reinvented his physique... Believe what ever you want to believe...but don't twist the words of those of us who question I'm not twisting anybody's words. I did in fact edit my post because I did not mean to call Gull out individually. Just because this has never been done before doesn't, and in my mind shouldn't, mean that she's cheating. It seems to me that you're placing an awful lot of faith in Mike Bottom and Eddie Reece. What if, and this is purely hypothetical, Dara's coach has hit onthe perfect formula for Dara. It is somewhat common I believe for women to get stronger after child birth. The woman that comes to mind is Mary Decker. There is a difference between questioning and outright accusing. A lot of the posts here are definitely more toward the accusing end of that spectrum.

I just looked at the article that Gull posted on the previous page. It states "its effectiveness in enhancing physical performance is still unproved...", so even if you could show that Torres was doping with this substance (which no one has), it doesn't necessarily explain her performance. How can anyone still so readily and without question As other people have pointed out, the questions have been asked and answered. Until there are more questions or more data, that's what we have to work with. Q1) Has she been tested for doping? A1) Up the wazoo. You may not like the state of the current system, but she has gone above and beyond the call of duty to answer this question. Q2) Has she shown a drastic change in physical performance (like mediocre swimmers becoming world champions practically overnight)? A2) No. She held American and World records back in 1983, so she has always been a talent, with some of the best coaches and support staff. Q3) Shouldn't the retirement have hindered her progress? A3) Michael Jordon retired from basketball to play baseball, and was still (arguably) the best player when he came back. By all accounts, even though Torres wasn't competing during retirement, she stayed in phenomenal shape. (Tae-Bo videos come to mind.) Q4) Shouldn't loss of flexibility and recovery time be an issue? A4) She has a staff of experts to make sure she is stretching and recovering from work-outs. Q5) Is it reasonable that she is going faster now than 25 years ago? A5) Twenty-five years ago, Rowdy Gaines had the 100 free world record with 49.36. In the semis, 14 of the 16 men's swimmers went faster than this. This is most likely due to improvements in training and technique (and swimsuits :drink: ). In my opinion (and only an opinion), these improvements can be enough to offset the decrease of physical ability due to age.