Fitness

The Body: Creating Ripples

Dara Torres became a faster, stronger, smarter athlete after she turned 40. Here, she dishes the secrets of speed and fitness that allow her to spank competitors half her age.

By: James Thornton; Photographs: Ronald Cadiz
Published: May 2008   [ Updated: Jul 11, 2008 - 1:29:31 PM ]

Dara Torres Photo Gallery – Click Thumbnail to View Full Size
Dara Torres, photographed in Coral Springs, Florida, January 2008 (Photo: Ronald Cadiz) Dara Torres, photographed in Coral Springs, Florida, January 2008 (Photo: Ronald Cadiz)
Dara Torres, photographed in Coral Springs, Florida, January 2008 (Photo: Ronald Cadiz)
Dara Torres, photographed in Coral Springs, Florida, January 2008 (Photo: Ronald Cadiz)
On land, Dara Torres looks stunning. Underwater, she looks even better. When I learned I was being dispatched on my dream assignment—to train with Torres in Coral Springs, Florida—performance anxiety flooded my mind. I've competed in masters races since 1984, but I feared I wouldn't be able to keep up with swimming's wonder woman long enough to actually appreciate her stroke. Five days prior to our pool date, Torres had surgery on her left knee, so she wouldn't be going full throttle. Still, as one of my teammates joked, "If you can't hold her pace, at least the forward view will be great."

Even if you're a nonswimmer, you probably recognize Dara Torres. Forget the fact that she has competed in four Olympic games, winning nine Olympic medals (including four gold). Or that she was the first athlete to appear in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Torres's latest triumph has come on the cusp of middle age and her seeming discovery of the fountain of youth in pool water. Last August, at age 40, just more than a year after giving birth to her first child, Torres stunned the world at the U.S. Nationals by winning both the 100- and 50-meter freestyle races. In the latter, she vanquished a gaggle of twentysomething hard-bodies and set a new American record. She's in pole position to earn a spot on the team for Beijing.

After an 800-meter warm-up, Torres's coach, Michael Lohberg, suggests we do a set of 12x100s on an interval of 1:45. But Torres thinks this will give us too much rest.

"Is 1:35 okay with you?" she asks in a voice reminiscent of Mariska Hargitay's.

I nod yes, conserving air.

The sight ahead of me is great. Despite the pesky demands of healing, her stroke is so flawless and efficient, her body so lithe and drag-resistant, that she cuts through the water like a marlin. I monitor our respective stroke cadences. For every three times her left fingertips silently spear the surface, mine slap it four times. By the far wall, Torres is a body length ahead, which provides an excellent perspective on her flip turn. Like everything about her swimming, this is elegant and economical, as fast and tight as a figure skater's spin. I execute my own turn, struggle to catch up, and enjoy maybe five meters of the forward view before she disappears in a waterscape of bubbles and blue. Many swimmers, Olympians included, have had the same experience. "Dara loves to be fit, and she never got out of shape in the past 30 years," says Lohberg. "But more than anything, she has this unbelievable willpower to do what she wants to do. She wants to swim faster because she can."

Here's why she can…and how you can improve in your sport as well.