Age is Just a Number – The New Book by Dara Torres

Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres made the sports world sit up and take notice last summer when she made the US Olympic Swimming team at age 41, and proceeded to win 3 silver medals in Beijing. Eight months later, Dara released her memoirs entitled, Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any Stage In Your Life.

From Universal Sports:

Torres, eight months removed from her performance in Beijing during which she won three silver medals, released her memoirs on Tuesday. “Age Is Just A Number,” which she co-wrote with New York Times Magazine contributing writer Elizabeth Weil, takes a walk through her entire swimming career — from when she was a teenager living in California and then as a student-athlete at the University of Florida, to her three comebacks as an adult.

She revisits past successes — setting world and American records, winning Olympic medals — and talks about the more difficult times in her life too. During her four years as a swimmer at Florida, she became bulimic. She’s dealt with two divorces, the death of her father and fertility problems. Michael Lohberg, the coach who guided Torres during her comeback for the Beijing Games, was stricken with a serious illness and was unable to travel to China for the Olympics.

Dara’s successes have obviously come at a price.  I think it takes a very special person to be able to face adversities in life and continue to follow and achieve their dreams. While Dara’s comeback was certainly not without controversy, her story is still remarkable and inspirational

Age is Just a Number is definitely going to be on my summer reading list!