Dara Torres is proof that dreams are achievable at any age. She broke her first world record at only 15 and at 41 became the oldest ever female Olympic swimmer. The years in between were filled with success, with the competitive swimmer winning 12 Olympic medals, four of them gold, and becoming a best-selling author, fitness advocate, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and mother. She is the only swimmer to represent the USA in five Olympic Games and is known in the international swimming community as “the queen of comebacks.”
Torres was born in 1967 and raised in Beverly Hills, California. At age seven, she followed in the footsteps of her older brothers by joining their community YMCA for swimming practice. Having found her calling, by age 14 she won the national open championship in the 50-yard freestyle against a college junior.
Torres attended the Westlake School for Girls (now Harvard-Westlake School), graduating in 1985 after competing in the 1984 Olympics. She then went on to the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she had a successful run as a Gator on the swimming and diving team, winning 28 All-American swimming honors — the maximum number possible during a collegiate career. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1990 and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1999.
After winning a gold medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay at the 1984 Olympics, Torres added a silver and bronze in relays in 1988, with another gold in the 4x100 free relay in 1992. Appearing to be at the end of her career, she went on to be a successful model, becoming the first athlete to appear in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. She returned to swimming in 1998, winning five medals in the Sydney Olympics.
Torres returned again in 2006, made the U.S. team for Beijing, and at 41 was the oldest ever female Olympic swimmer. She won a silver medal in the 50 freestyle and added silver medals in both relays. She set eight American records throughout her career.
Torres published a memoir, “Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life,” and appears regularly on CBS Sports’ “We Need To Talk,” the first-ever all-female sports talk show airing nationally.