I'm in the camp of the very guarded optimist regarding Dara. I want to believe in her but acknowledge that what she's done stretches the limits of believability. Wouldn't it be nice to think that age isn't as detrimental to performance as we once believed?
I remember Jeannie Childs (sp?) on the cover of Swimming World magazine when I was in high school. She was an OLD lady back then--21--and breaking all kinds of barriers. No one could believe a woman "that old" could swim as fast as she did. Shoot, when I swam in college in the 80's it was a relatively new idea that women could continue to drop time post-high-school.
I don't think anyone can know if Dara reached her potential during those years. She was part of the "be skinny at all costs" culture of women's swimming at the time. Eating disorders among women swimmers were relatively common as were weigh-ins. Nutrition was not nearly as recognized as a factor in athletic performance. Women swimmers were commonly avoiding fat (and, by doing so, protein as well). We were eating carbs. We were only beginning to see hydration as important. There were not the number of supplements now available back then.
I don't really know what to think. Like I said, many women went into college swimming without the knowledge that the peak of their athletic abilities lay ahead of them and not behind. The swimming world has really changed since then. It would be nice to think it can continue.
I'm in the camp of the very guarded optimist regarding Dara. I want to believe in her but acknowledge that what she's done stretches the limits of believability. Wouldn't it be nice to think that age isn't as detrimental to performance as we once believed?
I remember Jeannie Childs (sp?) on the cover of Swimming World magazine when I was in high school. She was an OLD lady back then--21--and breaking all kinds of barriers. No one could believe a woman "that old" could swim as fast as she did. Shoot, when I swam in college in the 80's it was a relatively new idea that women could continue to drop time post-high-school.
I don't think anyone can know if Dara reached her potential during those years. She was part of the "be skinny at all costs" culture of women's swimming at the time. Eating disorders among women swimmers were relatively common as were weigh-ins. Nutrition was not nearly as recognized as a factor in athletic performance. Women swimmers were commonly avoiding fat (and, by doing so, protein as well). We were eating carbs. We were only beginning to see hydration as important. There were not the number of supplements now available back then.
I don't really know what to think. Like I said, many women went into college swimming without the knowledge that the peak of their athletic abilities lay ahead of them and not behind. The swimming world has really changed since then. It would be nice to think it can continue.
