Olympic gold medalist offers presentation
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres will give a presentation to Wood River
Valley residents regarding her comeback in Sydney this fall.
She will speak at The Community School theater on Monday at 7 p.m.
Torres, 33, is the daughter of Ketchum resident Mary Lu Kauder, and, as
such, has frequented the Wood River Valley for much of her life.
At 33, Torres is the oldest swimmer U.S. Olympic history to win a medal,
and is the first American swimmer to compete in four Olympic games.
In Sydney, she won five medals: two gold and three bronze.
After her third Summer Games in Barcelona in 1992, Torres retired from
competitive swimming, becoming a fashion model, television commentator, spokeswoman for
the Tae-Bo workout infomercials and the first athlete to appear in the Sports
Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Last summer, the 5-foot-11-inch, 140-pound Torres decided to return to her
swimming roots.
"In hindsight, I’ve realized that I had some unfinished
business, and that unfinished business was swimming," Torres is quoted as saying in a
promotional brochure published by SFX Sports Group, based in New York.
In the same brochure, women’s Olympic swimming coach Richard Quick is
quoted: "She’s completely outside the box. She has been out of swimming for
seven years, and she’s swimming faster than ever."
Having overcome a battle with bulimia and a seven-year layover to make a
successful return to the Olympic pool in Sydney, Torres should tell a story worth hearing.
