The Age of Olympic Dreams

Many athletes share similar Olympic dreams, but few comparatively possess gold medals to crown their achievements. Even fewer can compete in multiple Olympics spanning decades, let alone win!

Meet Dara Torres, a 41-year old mother who retired from swimming a handful of times but recently won at the Olympic trials for the 100-meter freestyle. She has five medals alone from the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and four from previous games, but with age usually comes a decline in competitive force, right? Even eight years ago, onlookers questioned Torres' abilities, but clearly she isn’t finished pursuing her dreams.
 
In the pursuit of her Olympic dreams, Torres has experienced her share of roadblocks and hardships, chiefly injuries and long recoveries. She attributes her drive to her father, who died over a year ago and never knew Torres would pursue Olympic dreams again.

Have you accomplished something that someone thought you were too old to do? [Sports Illustrated]