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For Torres, no drag getting old Dara Torres competes with swimmers half her age by understanding the reasons why getting old slows us down — and working around them.
Swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres, 45, is relying on an intense and strictly coordinated workout plan as she attempts to make her sixth Olympic team this year.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
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Torres has consistently gotten faster with age, relying on a team of medical and fitness experts to keep her in shape. She won three medals at the Bejing Olympics in 2008 when she was 41 years old.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Under the watch of coach Bruno Darzi, few of the exercises Torres does are conventional. Almost nothing she does using the equipment at the Coral Springs Aquatic Center weight room matches the instructions for how to use it.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Torres bought reading glasses for the first time last year and dyes her hair blonde to hide the gray, but she remains in great physical condition.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Torres says this Olympic attempt has been the hardest by far. Doctors confirmed that her production of hormones like testosterone and growth hormone are continuing to decrease, meaning she can longer expect to maintain the strength of her youth.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Since the 2008 Olympics, Torres has had three knee surgeries and operations on an injured shoulder and hernia. "It seems like I'm sore every freaking day," Torres said. "You never get a day where you're like 'My whole body just feels really good.' "
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
If Torres can't build a stronger body as she gets older, she can still try to improve her training machine. Torres has expanded her team of experts, urging them to shift their focus from strength-enhancement to improving the function of her cells, brain activity and neurons.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Torres has recently added a second trainer, scientist and neurologist to her team of consultants. Since before Beijing, she has employed two mashers, or stretchers, who have kneaded, walked on, massaged and rubbed her muscles three times weekly. One trainer works on her upper body and another on her lower body.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
In addition to working out her body, Torres does complicated exercises that work her brain. The thought is neurological stimulation will help elevate hormone production.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Given her sculpted physique and continued excellence, Torres has long been dogged by assumptions that she has used performance-enhancing drugs. But Torres has a clean record and has never failed a drug test.
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Torres says she often feels like a 5-foot-11 science project, seeking every possible means of performance-enhancement within the rules. “It’s all very, very science-oriented,” Torres said. “Before, in ’08, it was all about my body. Now it’s what’s going on inside my body.”
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
Torres, third from left, with teammates Carrie Steinseifer, Jenna Johnson and Nancy Hogshead, won the women's 4x100 meter relay at the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984. Torres is still an Olympic-caliber athlete 28 years later.
Sintay
/
Associated Press
Torres, bottom, at the start of the wome'ns 100-meter freestyle competition at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Torres finished seventh overall while East Germany's Kristen Otto took the gold. Torres's physique and workout regimen is much different now.
Lennox McClendon
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Associated Press
Torres, right, reacts after her team won the 400-meter relay at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, the third of her five Olympic appearances so far.
Craig Fujii
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Associated Press
Torres, center, with teammates Amy Van Dyken, left, and Courtney Shealy, returned to Olympic competition in 2000 in Sydney and won five medals as the oldest member of the U.S. swim team at age 33.
ERIC DRAPER
/
Associated Press
Torres was 41 years old when she won the silver medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle final in Beijing in 2008. By then she had already become known for the intense workout regimen that extended her career.
Mark J. Terrill
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Associated Press
Torres surprised many when she won three medals in Beijing in 2008, so a successful appearance this year in London shouldn't be out of the question.
Itsuo Inouye
/
Associated Press
Torres is still amazed by the impact she has had, and wants to accomplish the goal of reaching the Olympic stage for the sixth time. "I always want to win," Torres said. "But right now, it’s not about winning. It’s about trying to make my sixth Olympic team at 45 years old."
Jonathan Newton
/
The Washington Post
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