Dara Torres - WOW!

[Veronica]

41 years old and going to her 5th Olympic Games.

V.

[Thorn]

And to add Jeannie Longo at 49 for her 7th games

[berkeley]

She looks amazing.

I loved how she didn't know she had won because she couldn't see the board. lol

[dachshund]

Yep, wow. I was going to post the same thing.

One article, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...MNIO11K9OO.DTL

Makes you want to go out and conquer the world.

[berkeley]

And tonight... double wow!

[Veronica]

No hints! I don't get my swim coverage for another hour.

V.

[F8th637]

I saw that! I watched the trials and it was so exciting! I got goosebumps and was thrilled to see her win! She totally rocked!

[Trek420]

And to add Jeannie Longo at 49 for her 7th games

What? Jeannie Longo's going to be at the games? Woot!

Makes you want to go out and conquer the world.

But not quite enough to train that hard

[ilima]

I'm really of two minds about her. As someone her age, it is obviously inspirational. But...

She spends something like $100K a year on massagers, chiros, etc. I dunno, it just seems to greedy and narcissistic, although I'm sure a healthy dose of narcissism is necessary to be world class athlete.

She's on an asthma inhaler. A bronchodilator. She says it's just to get her lungs up to where other folks are, but I don't totally believe it. She uses it 30 minutes before her races & it would definitely giver her a substantial performance boost. I'm just skeptical she's really asthmatic. Who turns asthmatic in their 30s? Most folks grow out of asthma as they get older (me & my dad included).

[bike4ever]

ilima - I wasn't identified with asthma until I was 35. I had three sons by then - two had asthma. One was severe and the other had cough variant. This version is more hidden and difficult to identify. That was what I was identified as having.

[indigoiis]

I'm 40 and have been allergy and asthma free my entire life up until last year, when, incidentally, I started exercizing and bicycling more frequently. Even back when I was a smoker, I never had shortness of breath like I do sometimes now.

[berkeley]

I'm really of two minds about her. As someone her age, it is obviously inspirational. But...

She spends something like $100K a year on massagers, chiros, etc. I dunno, it just seems to greedy and narcissistic, although I'm sure a healthy dose of narcissism is necessary to be world class athlete.

She's on an asthma inhaler. A bronchodilator. She says it's just to get her lungs up to where other folks are, but I don't totally believe it. She uses it 30 minutes before her races & it would definitely giver her a substantial performance boost. I'm just skeptical she's really asthmatic. Who turns asthmatic in their 30s? Most folks grow out of asthma as they get older (me & my dad included).

To the first point... I suppose we could say that about anyone that spends $$ on a "hobby" or "sport", right? I mean, plenty of people think I'm absolutely nuts to spend money on my dogs or a bike... but as long as it's not putting anyone in danger, and it's a source of happiness for them, I really don't care what people spend their money on. KWIM?

To the second - at least she's open and honest about what she's doing, and so far, it's been deemed "legal". She's actually volunteered for more frequent drug testing, so you have to give her credit for that.

[dachshund]

I'm really of two minds about her. As someone her age, it is obviously inspirational. But...

She spends something like $100K a year on massagers, chiros, etc. I dunno, it just seems to greedy and narcissistic, although I'm sure a healthy dose of narcissism is necessary to be world class athlete.

She's on an asthma inhaler. A bronchodilator. She says it's just to get her lungs up to where other folks are, but I don't totally believe it. She uses it 30 minutes before her races & it would definitely giver her a substantial performance boost. I'm just skeptical she's really asthmatic. Who turns asthmatic in their 30s? Most folks grow out of asthma as they get older (me & my dad included).

Well... yeah, but she's 25 years older than most of her competitors. I respect your opinion, but I imagine some of the other athletes are putting big $$ into their programs. I also think it takes massive ego to do something like this, and I don't mean that in a bad way.

I think it's wild. I think she's really inspiring.

[Velobambina]

Younger athletes also a lot of time & money in their training, and actually might have an easier time finding sponsors to pay their expenses. As an over-40 athlete, I find her inspiring. I hope to see her on the medal podium.

[Over50Newbie]

She is my new hero. I am a 53 year old competitive Master's swimmer. Not a very fast swimmer, but I do enjoy it.

For those of you that don't swim, let me tell you that a 41 year old female swimmer is like a dinosaur. She is competing against teenage girls and young women in their 20s. She is now officially the oldest female swimmer in Olympic history.

Also, the fact that she is competing in the 2 fastest Olympic swimming events is even more amazing. because as you age you lose fast-twitch muscle fibers faster than slow-twitch muscle fibers. So to be able to sprint as fast as she does absolutely blows my mind.

She is totally redefining the stereotype of older female swimmers. I can't wait to see her compete in the Beijing Olympics.

Here is a picture of her - look at those abs! WOW!!!

Lynette