Badass Spotlight #4: Dara.

As if she needs my little blog’s spotlight to shine.  This woman is the coolest.

My favorite local mom/triathlete/badass teammate Lisa Marshall rounded up some girls for this one. I was a little miffed at first to be included in the “we can do anything at any age” email. I mean, is 32 really in the “old” category?  But then I shut up when I realized who the email was about:  Dara Torres. The woman could be on the cover of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful issue.  Instead, she has accomplished far more gratifying things in her swimming career.

Dara Torres came to the ATL to speak and sign books at The Carter Center downtown on Weds night.  I didn’t have a chance to read her book before the event, but I’m looking more forward to doing so now.  Unfortunately she didn’t speak too long, but she did answer a couple of questions in a way that I respected and understood.  One person asked, “What do you do when you get nervous before a competition?” She thought about it for a second and said, “Well, the butterflies are good.  And they’re normal.  But really, if I have done all of my training and worked hard leading up to the meet, I know that I’ve done everything I could do to be prepared.”

Spot on!!

She also talked about how she stays motivated. She does it by breaking down her efforts into short term and long term goals. She’s a big goal-setter— a common thread among high achievers.  She wants to nail those goals, and that drives her to chase them down.  Keep chasin’ em, Dara.  Those young girls are swimming scared!!

Dara is a total badass. I can’t wait to read her book.

By the way, check out the gun show below.  Nice arms, huh?!