Now, it seems to me that if you’re a world-class swimmer, dependant largely on the functioning of your pulmonary system, and are being trained in the United States, which includes multiple physicals and physiological monitoring in real time, then a case of asthma might have been discovered well before Torres turned 14, let alone 41.
It is also worth noting that in EVERY case where a swimmer suddenly appeared to win a medal in the Olympics after entering outside the top 10 in the world, it was later found out that those swimmers were doping. Every Case. Period. This is presently the situation Dara Torres is in.
So, we are now presented with this scenario. The suddenly asthmatic Dara Torres is posting her best times ever, is leaner and more muscular than at any point in her career, and is a better swimmer than she was 20 years ago, when “old” is considered 25 in women’s swimming. Oh yes, and she’s coming from well outside the world’s top 10 to do all this.
Coincidence?
Maybe, but I’m not holding my breath.
The IOC will now be holding on to doping samples for eight years, so that currently undetectable chemicals can be scanned for in the future. If Torres makes it that long, then perhaps I’ll concede.
But in the mean time, come on ladies, find someone else to emulate. There are plenty of potential candidates in this crop of Olympians from which to draw inspiration. And Dara Torres?
She’s a man, baby, transformed by a very probable cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs.
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