1. Dara Grace Torres was born on April 15,1967 and is an American former competitive swimmer, who is a 12-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events.
34 Facts About Dara Torres
1. 2.
Dara Torres won 12 Olympic medals, at the time this was the most Olympic women's swimming medals, tied with fellow American Jenny Thompson.
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Dara Torres won five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics, when at age 33, she was the oldest member of the 2000 US Olympic swim team.
4.
Dara Torres won at least one medal in each of the five Olympics in which she competed.
5.
Dara Torres was born on April 15,1967, to a family in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Edward Dara Torres, and Marylu Kauder.
6.
Dara Torres's father was a real estate developer and casino owner; her mother Marylu was a former American model.
7.
Dara Torres grew up in Beverly Hills, California, the fifth of six children and the older of two girls.
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Dara Torres attended the Westlake School for Girls, and competed for the Westlake swim team under coach Alison Esses from the seventh grade through her sophomore year in high school.
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Dara Torres was a member of the Westlake basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball teams.
10.
Dara Torres accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she swam for the Florida Gators swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association under coach Randy Reese from 1986 to 1989.
11.
Dara Torres won three NCAA individual national championships in 1988; and was a member of six of the Gators' NCAA championship relay teams, including the 400-yard freestyle relay in 1986; the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays, and the 400-yard freestyle relay in 1988; and the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays in 1989.
12.
Dara Torres lettered in volleyball at Florida, playing the sport in her fifth year after having exhausted her NCAA eligibility in swimming.
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Dara Torres graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1990 and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1999.
14.
Dara Torres's winning teammates in that final included Nancy Hogshead, Jenna Johnson, and Carrie Steinseifer; Jill Sterkel and Mary Wayte swam in the event's second-round qualifying heat.
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Individually, Dara Torres placed seventh in the final of the 100-meter freestyle event.
16.
Dara Torres won five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but saved her best for two of the major relay events of the US Olympic women's team.
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At 33 years old, Dara Torres became the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in swimming.
18.
Dara Torres was the oldest member of the US Olympic swim team, but won more medals than any other US team member.
19.
Dara Torres lowered her initial American record by 1.62 seconds.
20.
Dara Torres has broken or lowered her own American record in the 50-meter freestyle 10 times, which is the most by any American swimmer in any event.
21.
At the 2008 US Olympic Trials, Dara Torres returned to the pool and qualified for a spot in her fifth Olympic Games at the age of 41, a first for an American female swimmer.
22.
Dara Torres became the oldest US Olympic swimmer in history and the first American swimmer to appear in five Olympic Games.
23.
Dara Torres's second-place time was a new American record, and 0.18 of a second faster than she swam at the US Olympic Trials.
24.
At the US National Championships in 2009, Dara Torres won the 50-meter freestyle with the fourth-best time in the world for the year, and she placed in the 50-meter butterfly, qualifying her to compete in those events at the 2009 World Championships.
25.
Only the top-two finishers in each trials event qualified for the 2012 US Olympic team, and as a result, Dara Torres concluded her Olympic career.
26.
Dara Torres has worked in television as a reporter and announcer for American networks NBC, ESPN, TNT, OLN, and Fox News Channel, and hosted the golf show, The Clubhouse on the Resort Sports Network.
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Dara Torres has worked as a model, and was the first elite swimmer to model swimwear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, appearing in the 1994 edition.
28.
Dara Torres was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
29.
Dara Torres and reproductive endocrinologist David Hoffman began dating in 2005, and then they became the parents of Tessa Grace Dara Torres-Hoffman, born in 2006.
30.
Dara Torres was part of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire show with Regis Philbin, October 2000, a special edition featuring Olympians, in a multi-night event.
31.
Dara Torres is a veteran celebrity swimmer for Swim Across America, a charitable organization that raises funds for cancer research in which she has participated for several years.
32.
Dara Torres is the author of two books: Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life, and Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program.
33.
Dara Torres is involved with the American chapter of the foundation of Princess Charlene of Monaco, a charitable organization at which she sits, as Vice-President, on the board of directors.
34.
On June 18,2024, Dara Torres was named the Head Swimming and Diving Coach at Boston College.