The Olympic mindset
One of the most decorated Olympians in United States history, Dara Torres has joined Boston College as head men's and women's swimming & diving coach.
During her competitive career, Torres set six world records and 10 American records on her way to competing in five Olympic games—1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008—where she won four gold, four silver, and four bronze medals. Torres has helped coach and mentor swimmers of various ages and skill levels. A mother, swimming commentator, entrepreneur, and globally recognized health and fitness advocate, Torres is the best-selling author of the autobiography Age is Just a Number (2009), as well as Gold Medal Fitness (2010).
Torres has called her BC appointment a “full-circle moment” that allows her to give back to her sport and rebuild the program following its suspension for the 2023-24 season. An ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation—which works to teach water safety, prevent drowning, and impart the values of competition and fair play—Torres has also participated in multiple Swim Across America events to benefit cancer research. Torres is an inductee of both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the United States Olympic Committee Hall of Fame.
Interviewed earlier this month, Torres discusses the upcoming summer Olympics, which begin July 26 in Paris, the athlete’s Olympic mindset, and how her historic swimming career shapes her as a coach and mentor of student-athletes.
Will you be attending the Paris games?
I have a lot of work to do here and I’m in the process of moving. So I will be watching the Olympics on TV.
The Olympics are often viewed as transcending so many other sporting events. What is your take on what makes the Olympics so special?
The Olympics have been going on since 1896. They only happen once every four years and they bring together the best athletes in the world at one competition. As an athlete, it is a dream-come-true for a kid whose goal has been making an Olympic team their entire young life.
What do you expect from USA Swimming at the Olympics in Paris?
Everyone puts high expectations on the USA swim team. It has an incredible reputation that has been earned over the years. Everyone who has made the team wants to meet those expectations. There are always highs and lows. What people expect will happen might not happen. That’s just the way the Olympics go. But the veterans of the team—Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, and Caeleb Dressel—it will be fun to watch and see if they can pull out good swims. Then there are young athletes, like Katie Grimes, in their first Olympics, or their second. They certainly put expectations on themselves. But sometimes when the experts don’t put expectations on someone, they surprise everyone by coming out and just shining. I think we will see all of those scenarios. For the women, I think they are capable of winning the most medals. But the Australians will give them a run for the money. That is a team that is closest in all-around depth. Other teams have some areas of strength, but the Australian women are a complete team.
Describe the mindset of an athlete when they get to the games.
The mindset starts to develop and reality hits you when you have your first team meeting and you’re thinking, ‘Oh my God. I’m on the Olympic team!’ Then you start training together. [USA Swimming trains in North Carolina for nine days and in Croatia from July 11-22.] The people you’ve raced against your entire career are now your teammates. And a camaraderie develops. Here is someone you wanted to beat every time you raced and now you are sharing a lane with them as you practice. But a camaraderie develops that’s really important. The team will likely get to the games a few days before they start. You don’t want to get there too early. You have so much energy and the endorphins are going and you don’t want to waste all that. So the U.S. tries not to leave a lot of time between arriving and the opening ceremonies.
How big a factor are pre-competition nerves?
Nerves are a factor, 100 percent. But for the U.S. contingent, everyone will tell you that the U.S. Olympic trials are more nerve-wracking than the Olympic games themselves. That’s how strong the competition is among U.S. swimmers. You could be the world record holder that year, but if you have a bad swim in the trials, you might not make the team. So while you’re nervous about the Olympics, you’ve gotten through the worst part, which is the trials. Then you’re at the Olympics with the best athletes in the world—in almost any sport—and it is never going to get any better than that. It is a crazy, cool feeling.
Dara Torres: "I wouldn’t have it any other way than to work with anyone but college swimmers right now."
Is it difficult to harness the energy and excitement before the competition starts?
You do things to try to relax and not overthink things. You see all these amazing athletes. I just tried to do things that would keep me busy. My thinking was that I had done all the work up to that point—the training, the turns, the nutrition, the workouts. So I just wanted to enjoy the experience and not overthink it.
Out of all your Olympic races, which stand out as the most significant to you?
At my first Olympics, I was 17 and I was in awe of everyone else. There were athletes like Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, and Carl Lewis. It was something to see. Looking back, it was hard at that age to appreciate some aspects of the games. When I was 41 at my fifth Olympics, I walked into the pool and realized, ‘Wow, I’m at the Olympic games.’ At that stage of my career and my life, I tried to show my appreciation for that. I tried to thank as many people as I could. I’m asked what’s my favorite medal and at one point I could have cited the medal, the race, and the time.
Now, at 57, I look at the 2008 games—my age, balancing motherhood, doing my training—that journey to make the team was probably the most rewarding in my career. I learned to juggle so many different things. I won a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle. I was seeded first in the finals and I touched the wall and I didn’t win. I saw a ‘2’ by my name on the scoreboard. I thought, ‘OK.’ Then I saw the times and saw that the winner had beat me by one hundredth of a second. Now, I always wanted to win. I did briefly think, ‘Do I have to do this again at age 45?’ I was beside myself. One hundredth of a second. This was horrible. But as I was flying home from Beijing, I thought ‘What could I have done differently?’ There was no answer. I had given it all I had. I left no stone unturned. I gave it my all and that day what I was supposed to do was win a silver because of a hundredth of a second.
How have those Olympic experiences influenced your work as a coach, mentor, and a health and fitness advocate?
I wouldn’t have it any other way than to work with anyone but college swimmers right now. BC has tradition, and the atmosphere, and the environment to build a great program. So it was a job that piqued my interest. Obviously, the kids had a rough year last year and they’ve been at the bottom (of the ACC) for a while. I’ve had many trials and tribulations in my life, but it’s about how you learn from them and put them in the rear view mirror and move forward. I thrive on challenges and it will be a challenge to bring fun back into the program. I want to give them confidence and help our athletes reach their full potential. But fun is important. Some describe competitive swimming as ‘swimming the black line’ at the bottom of the pool during your hours of training. It can get monotonous. So I want to get these student-athletes back to having fun. I want to help them as their coach and share my passion for swimming and competing. This is a chance to really give back to back to the sport.
How does having achieved at the highest levels of your sport influence your coaching?
“There are athletes who have been at the top of their game who come in and try to coach and get their athletes to do what they did. That can be frustrating for the athletes. I learned as a parent that my child is a good athlete, but each child is different as a person and as an athlete. So my goal is to help each one reach their potential. It is about them and their goals and not about what I have done.