How Dara Torres could help save sports

What a 41-year-old swimmer's comeback means

Dara Torres might just make Americans start trusting athletes again, said Bob Padecky in the Santa Rosa, Calif., Press-Democrat. At 41, this “doting mom” who is “ripped like Mt. Rushmore” has qualified to swim in next month’s Beijing Olympics. After Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Roger Clemens, we all need to believe that her miracle comeback “did not come from a vial."

Sorry, but Torres' secrets of success don't hold water, said Amanda Schaffer in Slate. She says "resistance stretching"and amino acid supplements helped her regain top form after taking five years off. These techniques might help, a little, but Torres seems to be “straining for an innocent-sounding explanation when there may not be one.”

Torres has passed drug tests, said David Quick in the Charleston, S.C., Post and Courier, so why accuse her of doping? She's swimming faster than ever thanks to a “fastidious" training schedule, good nutrition, and plenty of sleep. Period. There are plenty of older athletes out there who are “living, breathing proof” of what our bodies can do if we take care of them.