Nyad, Torres et al push the limits of athletic excellence

Life-affirming post here on The Washington Times:

Dara Torres became the oldest female swimmer in Olympic Games history in 2008. The American won three silver medals at age 41. Now she’s training to make the U.S. team competing at the 2012 Games/ Torres will be 45 when the London Olympics begin on July 27, 2012. If she makes the team, she would become the oldest Olympic swimmer ever.

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad gave up her attempt to break the open-water swimming record at age 62 last month, forced to abandon the 103-mile swim from Cuba to Florida after 89 miles due to repeated stings from lethal Portuguese Man-O-War jellyfish. She says she knew she would have made it if not for the stings. She won’t try again, but she doesn’t consider the effort including two years of training a failure, calling it a “grand, elevating, life-confirming experience.”