Dara Torres talks about life post-Olympics
I'm so jealous! My colleague Brian Truitt just got off the phone with Olympic silver-medalist Dara Torres (at right). Brian is writing the story that will go with our Sept. 28 cover on Torres, the 41-year-old swimmer who came home from Beijing with three silver medals. Here's Brian's report:
"Torres is as animated out of the pool as she is in it. My piece is for our annual women’s health issue but Torres is a role model for men and women of all ages. Although Michael Phelps was THE swim star for the Americans in China, Torres’ three silvers were nothing to sneeze at, as the five-time Olympian added to her overall medal count of 12. Her performance in the pool is an inspiration for everyone — heck, I WISH I was in that good a shape.
"We talked about her motherhood – she’s the proud mom of 2 1/2 –year-old Tessa (also at right) – and her workout regimen, which eschews weights for resistance stretch training emphasizing strength and muscle recovery. Torres just got back to her Florida home last week, although today she’s in Los Angeles for Access Hollywood and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which will be her first public appearance since the Olympics. Asked about being a celebrity, she laughs at the thought. 'I’m not really used to it. It’s a little different for me.'
"Torres hasn’t been in a pool since her last relay race in Beijing, and she’s itching to get back – but she injured her thumb in that final race ('Just some ligament damage,' she reports) and is having shoulder surgery on Wednesday. Not that she’s been resting since she returned home. Spending time with her daughter has been the main focus, but Torres also is preparing for speeches and appearances she’ll be doing in the coming months. Also, she says she’ll be writing a memoir for next year and a fitness/lifestyle book for 2010. Torres hasn’t ruled out using all her experience as a swim coach one day. 'I give swim clinics and that’s been fun, to give back to the sport,' she says. 'Sometimes I don’t feel like I’m creative enough to think of a bunch of different things to do for people. I know what I know and what I’ve done, but I do like helping people.' ”
(photo courtesy daratorres.com)
August 13, 2008
Michael Phelps: Olympic champion and USA WEEKEND star
Michael Phelps is, as the Washington Post put it this morning, "without peer" at the Beijing Olympics, with his record-breaking performances and new status as the greatest Olympian ever. But before he was smashing world records in China, and even before he was a winner in Athens in 2004, he was an imposing and inspiring USA WEEKEND cover subject (see him at left.)
He told us then that after his morning workouts he eats — a LOT — and then takes "a three-hour nap. Sometimes I dream I'm standing on the Olympic medal stand with the gold medal around my neck, listening to the national anthem. Being an Olympic champion is what drives me. I don't think it gets any better than that." I think it's a safe bet that the only thing better is being an Olympic champion 11 times over.
June 24, 2008
Women gymnasts, old and new, share a shoot
Senior writer Dennis McCafferty just got back from Philadelphia, where he watched the U.S. Gymnastics Women’s team trials and sat in on a cover photo shoot with top women’s gymnast Shawn Johnson (at left) along with 1996 star Shannon Miller. Dennis reports: “Shawn and Shannon got on quite well, posing in all kinds of positions that I couldn’t even fathom contorting to myself, including a few on a balance beam. Shannon indicated she was getting quite a workout in the process! Shawn is just 16, but she is so extremely poised and sharp — already a great leader for a team that still will be selecting members for the next few weeks. Oh, and she even brought her own country music-thick iPod to the shoot. She says she’s looking forward to taking on the dominating China team in their own backyard. ‘That’s what makes for great competition,’ she told me. Look for our cover on July 27.”
(photo via shawnjohnson.net)
