Swimmer Torres' success can be a message for us all

I have enjoyed hearing all the commentary on 41-year-old swimmer Dara Torres, a four-time gold medalist who recently qualified for her fifth Olympics.

First, everyone is so surprised that Torres continues to reign in a sport dominated by athletes half her age. Second, and this is really a shame, some suspect she's doping. Count me as a contrarian on both counts. I'm not surprised, and don't think she's using performance-enhancing drugs.

Torres has a fastidious schedule of exercising, stretching and weight training while also eating well and getting plenty of sleep daily, all of which helps her maximize the genetic gift she's been blessed with. Torres is adamant about not using drugs and said recently, "You can DNA test me, blood test me, urine test me, whatever you want to do, just test me. ... I want people to know I am doing this right, that I am 41 years old and I am clean and I want a clean sport."

Besides everyone being justifiably sensitized to doping at this time of the Tour de France and Olympics, part of what's going on is the outdated notion of aging and what's "old."

NBC's Matt Lauer was interviewing Torres and noted that when he turned 40, he felt more achy, tired, etc. I've heard the same comment from dozens of people in recent years, as if the human body was a degradation time bomb that goes off at the four-decade mark. This is a negative mind-set that needs to change, but I doubt it will because it's an easy excuse for people to be physically lazy and nutritionally slack.

The signs that the age excuse is antiquated are evident in athletes of all levels in a variety of sports.

Think Torres is just a freak? She's not. Pole vaulter Jeff Hartwig, 40, finished second at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month and is going to Beijing. Ever heard of Jennie Longo? The 49-year-old French cyclist will be competing in her seventh Olympic Games in August.

In April, 50-year-old marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson not only qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials but finished in 2 hours, 49 minutes and 8 seconds, putting her 90th among the 124 finishers in a field of the best female marathoners in the country. And Samuelson is just a young'un compared with Canadian marathoner Ed Whitlock, 77, who ran a 2:54:48 at age 73 and finished last year's Rotterdam Marathon in 3:04:54.

Too obscure for you mainstreamers? How about a pair of 44-year-olds in sports well-known for frying athletes by their mid-30s? Quarterback Vinny Testaverde played in seven games for the Carolina Panthers last year, and pitcher Kenny Rogers has been an integral part of the Detroit Tigers' turnaround in the past three seasons.

I've seen "older" athletes succeed on the local level as well and am inspired at almost every race I participate in. In the last one, the Charleston Sprint Triathlon on July 6, three of the top five open-elite winners were ages 45, 55 and 41. Oh, and by the way, 78-year-old Bill Boulter came in 252nd out of 314 finishers.

All these athletes are living, breathing proof that our mantras should be "age is just a number" and "use it or lose it" rather than "I'm too old for this." Yes, they are athletes, aka "jocks," but they provide a model for nonathletes to follow as well.

The fact is that we know a lot more about the human body than we ever have before. It can be a great machine, a marvel of longevity, but we've got to take simple steps to keep it fine-tuned. Like Torres & Co., we have to eat well, drink plenty of water, do cardiovascular and strength exercises, stretch and rest (and by all means, don't smoke). If you are not motivated from the physical standpoint, consider that being healthy physically pays off intellectually and emotionally as well.

I'm not one to routinely quote the Bible, but its wisdom and relevance, even on a secular level, never cease to amaze me. One of the many passages I think we should all live by comes from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Your body is your temple. Take care of it.

Reach David Quick at 937-5516 or dquick@postandcourier.com.