This would be so cool. You always see sprinters/stroke specialists in their late 30s/40s making back to the elite levels. She would be the first distance swimmer(?) to make it back to the elite levels.
Really? Name one besides Dara Torres.
Susan (Rapp) von der Lippe won Silver in the 200 *** in the 80's then qualified for the most recent Olympic Trials in the 100 *** and the 100 fly.
It depends on how you define elite. I think there is a pretty wide gulf between making OT cuts and winning an Olympic medal. And SVDL hardly attempted a "comeback," she just tries to fit swimming in "around the edges" (like most masters swimmers).
Like Tom, I do kind of wonder if DT's comeback success has as much to do with her events as with her talent/determination. If Janet Evans does seriously go after it, then it would be an interesting test case.
Dennis Baker's oh-so-near-miss of the OT in the 200 fly while in his upper-40s deserves mention in this regard. I guess I intuitively feel we mere mortals lose more in an event like the 200 fly (or the distance frees) with age than we do in the sprints. But maybe not.
This would be so cool. You always see sprinters/stroke specialists in their late 30s/40s making back to the elite levels. She would be the first distance swimmer(?) to make it back to the elite levels.
Really? Name one besides Dara Torres.
Susan (Rapp) von der Lippe won Silver in the 200 *** in the 80's then qualified for the most recent Olympic Trials in the 100 *** and the 100 fly.
It depends on how you define elite. I think there is a pretty wide gulf between making OT cuts and winning an Olympic medal. And SVDL hardly attempted a "comeback," she just tries to fit swimming in "around the edges" (like most masters swimmers).
Like Tom, I do kind of wonder if DT's comeback success has as much to do with her events as with her talent/determination. If Janet Evans does seriously go after it, then it would be an interesting test case.
Dennis Baker's oh-so-near-miss of the OT in the 200 fly while in his upper-40s deserves mention in this regard. I guess I intuitively feel we mere mortals lose more in an event like the 200 fly (or the distance frees) with age than we do in the sprints. But maybe not.
