Grannies of the Games

摘要

When dara torres mounts the racing block this week at the Olympic swimming Team Trials, she'll look a bit dated. She'll strap on bug-eyed, mirrored goggles like the ones she wore in her first Olympics—more than 15 years ago. "All the girls are always making fun of me," she says. At 33, Torres is practically a senior citizen in the world of swimming; one of her training partners was a toddler when she swam in her first Games. Now she's trying out for her fourth Olympic team. "Come on, Granny!" her coach teased her in practice. The joking stopped when Torres broke the world record in the 50-meter freestyle in June. "There is a myth in swimming that you have to be 17 or 18 years old, you peak and that's it," Torres says. "But I guess I'm peaking now."