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4x100m relay

Aug 21

2008

Dara Torres and the day she swam her 50

Posted by Steve Sierra in resistance stretching , dara torres , 50m freestyle , 4x100m relay , 2008 beijing games

Well, we have waited to years for this day and boy did it not disappoint us! It was one of the most exciting moments in my life. The day naturally unfolded for us with a mixture of happiness, and intense thoughts of the unknown future.

Dara was in a good mood during her warm-up but during her mashing session you could see her mood change to competition mode. I could feel and see her thoughts and emotions play out in her face as our mashing session went on. All we could do was support her to the best of our abilities and let her swim her race.

Dara warming up before her 50, and talking to her coach Mark Schubert whom by the way coached Dara during her first Olympics!

Below: Dara on her way to get mashed!

Below: Daras niece and nephew have come to support her with their tatoos

So we just finished mashing and stretching Dara and she is off to put her suit on. during that time she also mentally prepares herself as Anne starts to fall apart from nervousness.

Below: Anne is laughing because she knows Im trying to capture her nervous breakdown

Below: here are the pics of Dara getting ready to swim her 50!

Below: The emotions in her face are unbelievable. Between Dara and Anne it they both captured the gold in intensity.

Below: Im always amazed at how Dara can switch gears and mentally redirect her energy.. Here she is waving to the crowd after her introduction.

Below: The gears switch again into game time mode

Above: So Dara is in the process of swimming "her" race and she is kicking some major ass. Im yelling as hard as I can and so is Anne. The crowd is going wild and everyone starts to hold their breath at the last meter! As you all know now Dara scores the Silver and misses the gold by 1/100th of a second! She beats her best time by 2/10ths of a second which in the 50 is a huge amount, and scores an American record in the process.

Below: During and after the race Anne remains true to form and breaks down and cries tears of joy and Love for our little princess.

Below: Here is Dara accepting her silver medal

Below: Just like Anne, Dara is crying tears of joy. I asked her later that day if she was crying because she missed the gold or because she was happy and she assured me it was tears of joy.

Below: Dara has her individual medal and now she has thirty minutes to prepare for the 400 medley relay!

Way to go girl! We love you!

Aug 14

2008

Dara Torres, the day she won the Silver in the 400x relay, and pics of family and friends

Posted by Steve Sierra in resistance stretching , dara torres , 4x100m relay , 2008 beijing games

The day Dara won silver was like every other race day except this time she was nervous in a different way. At trials Daras nervousness was more like intense stress. She wanted to succeed not only for herself, but for everyone that supported her.

This time Dara was nervous, but it was more of an excited nervousness. As we stretched and mashed her, the leg that was free would just start to shake! It was hilarious, and even though it was going on it didnt phase her. She would actually carry on a conversation, smiling the whole time while her leg involuntarily would start to shake! Her mother commented on it and we all had a great laugh at Daras expense. Once we were done with Dara she was off in a flash and ready to take charge.

Below: Here are a sequence of pics right before she swam her part of the relay. If you look closely you can see the intense feeling in Daras face. She almost looks to worried, yet like a true champion she snaps out of it when its time to perform.

Below: the American womans relay team is introduced!

Below: you can see the pressure of performing well start to show on Daras face.

Below: How does Dara snap out of it? Well, for one thing she's a professional and for a another, it helps when the President is in the audience cheering the U.S. team on!

Below: action shots of Dara getting ready to take the bull by the horns and claim her spot in History once more!

Below: and here is the end result of 2 years of extremely hard work!

Below: we have pics of family and friends

This is Dave, Daras partner in life. He is one of the main reasons Dara is able to follow through with her dream of competeing again. Without his love and support for her this journey would have been extremely difficult and stressful! Thanks Dave, your the best!

Below: Daras beautiful Mother Mary Lou. As you can see Dara gets her great genetics from her!

Below: Most of the Torres clan

left to right: Daras brother in law John, her mother Mary Lou, her sister Lara, her niece Alegra, her nephew Nicholas, her step-father Ed, and her best friend Tommy

Below: The next generation of athletes in the Torres family?

Below: and here is the very kind but strict gentleman that kicked us out as soon as the event was over and another started.

Aug 14

2008

Dara torres practice before the 400x relay , Tiananmen square, and the Forbidden city

Posted by Steve Sierra in resistance stretching , dara torres , 4x100m relay , 2008 beijing games

Below: pics of Tiananmen square and the Forbidden city

Below : entrance to the Forbidden City

Inside the Forbidden city you have places to buy souvenirs, you can dress up and take photos, or you can buy artwork from students.

Towars all along the courtyard:

Below: more soldiers

Below: a view from Tiananmen square

Below: pics of the inside of the cube. Here is the diving platform. It looks like a toy set!

Below: Dara mapping out her strategy with her coaches and warming up. Her body is feeling a little tight, so we have upped the training. We mash and stretch her in the morning, and then in the afternoon we mash her again. Its taken a couple of days but she is feeling better. In her own words, " I feel strong in the water, just not snappy". We shall see on game day, and form prior experience we know she will peak nicely!