{"id":1294,"date":"2018-09-06T10:57:56","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T14:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jou.ufl.edu\/going-greater\/?post_type=insights&p=1294"},"modified":"2018-09-12T09:46:47","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T13:46:47","slug":"dara-torres-still-at-the-top-of-her-game","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/www.jou.ufl.edu\/going-greater\/insights\/dara-torres-still-at-the-top-of-her-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Dara Torres"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lenore Devore, B.S. Journalism 1984<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clad in stylishly torn white jeans, a yellow T-shirt and blue flip flops, Dara Torres, B.S. Telecommunication 1990, runs onto the football field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and promptly does eight pushups, then quiets the crowd. Putting down the orange-and-blue 2-Bits sign, the 12-time Olympic swimming medalist uses her toned arms to point to one side of the massive crowd, then the other, as the honorary Ms. Two Bits for the October 2017 Texas A&M game.<\/p>\n

It was one of her favorite moments at the University of Florida, Torres says. \u201cI got to show my family UF, reminisce and get all nostalgic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dara Torres at 2008 Olympic Trials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Torres\u2019 swimming career was nothing short of incredible.\u00a0 While at UF, she earned 28 NCAA All-American swimming awards, the most possible, and was named NCAA Swimmer of the Year and Southeastern Conference’s Athlete of the Year (both in 1988). As an Olympian, Torres won twelve Olympic medals (four gold, four silver, four bronze), tying two other swimmers for the most Olympic women’s swimming medals, and is a\u00a0 former world record-holder in three events. She is the first swimmer to represent the United States in five\u00a0Olympic Games<\/a>\u00a0(1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008) and one of a handful of Olympians who won a medal at five games. And, at age 41, she was the oldest swimmer to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team.<\/p>\n

Torres recalled back in 1986 how crazy it all seemed during her first Saturday morning swimming practice on the day of a home football game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in California, Los Angeles, and you just aren\u2019t fazed by the colleges there — there are so many,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget \u2026 after one of my first morning workouts about 5:30, I couldn\u2019t believe it when I walked out \u2026 I was blown away that by the time we got out at 8, I was bombarded by people in orange and blue, with their faces painted. What are these crazy people doing? It was my first eye-opening experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

So weird, she says she thought at the time. \u201cIt was a great atmosphere to be in. The whole entire town was cheering on the Gators. It took me a little while to go to a game, but I did after three or four games. Then I thought: This is pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 51, the married mother of 12-year-old Tessa Grace says majoring in telecommunication at the College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) prepared her for a job in television and beyond.<\/p>\n

She chose to study at UF because other colleges didn\u2019t have the hands-on program that UFCJC did, she says. \u201cIt was one of the reasons I chose UF. I\u2019ll never forget the feeling of being able to direct and produce and do other kind of fun stuff, behind the scenes. It wasn\u2019t just get out a book. We did really cool stuff. To work at the TV station and get that experience that you need was critical because once that little red light goes on, it\u2019s a much different story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt prepared me for life after college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torres says she\u2019s \u201chad so many great gigs,\u201d including her work on a hockey show, a golf show for the Resort Sports Network and more. But don\u2019t label her a color commentator — something she admits to not being very good at. \u201cI branched out and have done lots of other things. I will say that I enjoyed the whole experience of doing what I loved to do. I was very blessed and honored.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond TV, Torres has been a model and businesswoman, raised money for cancer research and written two best-selling books: \u201cAge is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life,\u201d a memoir published in April 2009, and \u201cGold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program,\u201d published a year later.<\/p>\n

L\"\"ooking young and acting young — through exercise — are big parts of her life. \u201cI\u2019ve always stayed in shape. I love working out, the way it makes you feel, the way it makes you look,\u201d she says. Even though she just moved back to Parkland, Florida, from Massachusetts, she\u2019ll travel to her Barre Studio up North every four to six weeks to keep her certification as a barre instructor.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also a spokeswoman for a couple of companies; co-hosts an all-female sports talk show on CBS Sports, \u201cWe Need to Talk\u201d; and does guest appearances as a motivational speaker on topics such as women\u2019s empowerment, never giving up on your dreams and being an Olympian.<\/p>\n

Today, she would tell CJC students to take advantage of every opportunity they can to get experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fortunate enough to get a job in NBC sports and in the CNN PR department, and then it was a non-paying job,\u201d Torres said. \u201cBut if you get an opportunity to do something, to get the experience, take it. That experience may never come up again. I started as a runner, an intern. There\u2019s a lot of grunt work you have to do, then work your way up.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also feels fortunate to have spent time at UF when Bill Arnsparger was athletic director. \u201cHe was awesome,\u201d she says of the former Miami Dolphins\u2019 defensive coordinator who died in 2015. \u201cHe and his wife sort of became my family away from home. He was very humble. So humble. They were just very sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her status as an Olympian is \u201cvery hard to describe,\u201d she says, searching for words. \u201cPeople don\u2019t really know what you go through to be the best you can be. Sometimes when they broadcast the Olympics they show something about going to morning practices, the up-close-and personal. What people don\u2019t understand is it\u2019s a lot of hard work. You spent your whole life training for this. For me, it was 24 seconds. The biggest event in the world that happens every four years, and the best athletes in the world go to it. You will never be in a competition at a higher level than the Olympic games. It\u2019s an indescribably amazing experience. You have to take it all in. Before you know it, it\u2019s all gone. It takes you forever and then it\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will we see her on TV at the 2020 summer Olympic games? She won\u2019t do color commentary, but she wouldn\u2019t mind putting her UF degree to work interviewing swimmers.<\/p>\n

Again, it\u2019s back to UF. It \u201cis an amazing school, amazing campus, amazing community. It\u2019s a big school, but it ends up being a small community once you are there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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