Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your LifeFrom legendary Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres comes a motivational, inspirational memoir about staying fit, aging gracefully, and pursuing your dreams. Dara Torres captured the hearts and minds of Americans of all ages when she launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age of forty-one—years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight years since her last Olympics. When she took three silver medals in Beijing—including a heartbreaking .01-second finish behind the gold medalist in the women’s 50-meter freestyle—America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her good-natured acceptance of the results. Now, in Age Is Just a Number, Dara reveals how the dream of an Olympic comeback first came to her—when she was months into her first, hard-won pregnancy. With humor and candor, Dara recounts how she returned to serious training—while nursing her infant daughter and contending with her beloved father’s long battle with cancer. Dara talks frankly about diving back in for this comeback; about being an older athlete in a younger athletes’ game; about competition, doubt, and belief; about working through pain and uncertainty; and finally—about seizing the moment and, most important, never giving up. A truly self-made legend, her story will resonate with women of all ages—and with anyone daring to entertain a seemingly impossible dream. |
Contents
Prologue | 1 |
On Diving Back In | 11 |
On Making a Comeback | 27 |
On Making a Comeback Yet Again | 45 |
On Motherhood and Other Forms of CrossTraining | 69 |
On Losing My Father and Gaining a Coach | 89 |
On Competition | 129 |
On Being an Older Athlete | 147 |
On Working Through Pain and Uncertainty | 185 |
11 | 199 |
Other editions - View all
Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life Dara Torres,Elizabeth Weil Limited preview - 2009 |
Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life Dara Torres,Elizabeth Weil Limited preview - 2009 |
Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life Dara Torres,Elizabeth Weil No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
100-meter freestyle relay 2000 Olympic Games Andy Anne and Steve asked athlete Beijing blocks body Britta Steffen called Chris coach comeback competitive Coral Springs Dara Dara Torres David dive father feel felt finals Florida girls goggles going head Jenny Jill Sterkel Kara Lynn Joyce kick kids knew lane look loved Mark Schubert Masters medal meters Michael Michael Phelps minutes Mission Viejo morning mother muscles Natalie Coughlin needed night Okay Olym Olympic Games Olympic team Olympic Trials practice pregnant pretty pulled racing suit Randy ready room Richard Richard Quick Rowdy Gaines seconds semifinals shoulder Sippy Woodhead speed Speedo sport sprinter stretching stroke swam swim fast swim meet swim team swimmers swum talk teammates tell Tessa Therese thing thought told trying walked wanted to win warm-up watched Water Cube week who'd workout world record