Dara Torres is featured on E-60 ESPN 2 tonight at 6PM EDST.
The program is geared toward her remarkable goal and chances to swim in the Olympics this summer at 41---
Love HGTV!
Gratz Michelle and all your SMU teammates on a phenomenal meet. I'd love to hear a little more about how the SMU group came together this year for Nationals. Was it an alumni group? When you get a moment, please send me an e-mail.
Her reaction to the haters was something I hadn't really seen before in an interview. To me, she came across as a person who has nothing to hide, but I've always believed that.
Bill I'd like to ask...define "haters"?
I by no means have read everything written about Dara but can't say I have read anything I would describe as "hateful"...thats a VERY strong statement and I'd love examples? Some hard questioning, some cheat shots but nothing that extreme.
I have been very vocal in my questioning of her and several others recent transformations and accomplishments...so does this make me a "hater"? For the record I don't hate anyone (at the moment) but I hate cheating and injustice and because of that willing to ask hard questions.
Interesting article Lindsay.
In the scope of drug cheating, the potential misuse of asthma medications does not alarm experts. Perhaps most important, many of these medications have minimal side effects, such as nausea or the jitters. So, they are relatively safe.
Furthermore, allergists and pulmonologists told Swimming World that asthma medications taken through an inhaler have no performance-enhancing qualities.
"It wouldn't do anything for someone who isn't asthmatic," said Storms, who performed tests on athletes at the U.S. Olympic Committee Training Center. Storms gave healthy athletes albuterol, a short-acting beta-agonist, and found no performance improvement.
I get asthma from seasonal allergies and used a salbutamol inhaler from March to June and September through November. I've never noticed any stimulent effect either, and I'm don't think they'd open your tubes any wider than they'd naturally go. I certainly don't experience any dramatic improvement.
Corticosteroid inhalers might give a mild improvement from causing a faster recovery from hard efforts, but taking them just before a race probably wouldn't make any difference in the race itself. Over the counter epinephrine inhalers are a different story - you can get seriously hyper on them.
I'd never seen the show before - and probably wouldn't watch it again unless there was a swimmer featured - but enjoyed the segment on Dara.
A lot of the focus was on whether or not she's clean. To me, some of the commentators came across as not very bright when they asked the drug questions. They missed an opportunity to find out what she has done. The doorway to her comeback was Masters swimming, and everyone sitting around the table let the reference to Masters slide by without comment. Disappointing, but not surprising.
Dara was radiant, as always. Her reaction to the haters was something I hadn't really seen before in an interview. To me, she came across as a person who has nothing to hide, but I've always believed that.
The most stunning thing about the segment was seeing footage of Dara setting the American Record at 40 alongside footage of the Mommy & Me swim class with her two-year-old daughter, Tessa. The most unexpected thing was the suggestion that having a child improved her flexibility.
I've also noticed, especially since the fires we had in So Cal back in the fall, that any time things are dusty my chest feels tight. Similar to how it felt back in the 70's and early 80's when the smog was bad.
I went to UCLA in the early 70's. Back then I was mostly a runner. On especially smoggy days I would have trouble taking deep breaths during runs. Since then I've associated that with the term "exercise-induced asthma", though that's probably incorrect.
Skip Montanaro
That's asthma? Fairly often after a hard swim during work out I feel like I just can't catch my breath. Especially sprints. Feels like there is no possible way to get in enough air. And it seems like it takes me longer to get air and recover than everyone else. Until now I thought it might just be that they're sand bagging and not swimming as hard as I was.
I've also noticed, especially since the fires we had in So Cal back in the fall, that any time things are dusty my chest feels tight. Similar to how it felt back in the 70's and early 80's when the smog was bad.
Am I being paranoid or should I go check this out?
It's not just feeling like you can't catch your breath, it's actually feeling like no matter how hard you try, air will not get in. It's frightening when it happens, and even when you're familiar with the feeling it can induce a bit of panic. There are days when I can literally feel my chest tighten when I walk out on the pool deck, the air is that bad. If you really feel uncomfortable, talk to your doctor.
Now, I'll out myself... After the "150" back incident at zones, I started using my rescue inhaler right before my races as a preventative. Did it boost my performance? Not at zones (I was feeling pretty crappy for the rest of that meet), but at nationals I was able to finish the 200 back; however, no records were set in the process. Other than that, it brought me peace of mind. I equate that to the mental effect of wearing a tech-suit.
Dana
