Can Dara Torres have her own thread?

PLenty of women have had a child and come back to compete at very high levels. I think the effect of childbirth on athletes is often overstated.

 

That's going to be news to a few people ... I guess we should all give up after we give birth. We're ruined. Absolutely ruined.

 

It would not make sense, survival of species-wise, to have the act of propogating the species one that would wreck the member of the species. Sure, deaths and traumas do happen in childbirth. But for the most part, recovery to close to previous form, especially for a trained athlete, should not be anywhere near out of the question. Now if she had a C-section...more of an issue, I would think.

 

Given that you have nothing whatsoever to back this up ...

 

I think there is some truth to what Lugnuts mentioned in her first and second posts on this thread. I would like to point out that what might be true for some, even many women, might not be true for all. So, Lugnuts might be right, and those who disagree with her might be right too.

I've known women whose bodies were wrecked by giving birth, and I've known others who were the envy of every woman they know just a few months later. My ex-wife had her only two children after 40, and a few years later she's still suffering debilitating auto-immune repercussions. I know Luggies talked about skin elasticity and all that, but the main theme was an older woman having a baby, and the impact upon the woman's body. I think some people are trying to put words in Luggies' mouth, but I think she posed some fair questions.

And it's kind of fun watching the men weigh in on this, seeing as how none of them have given birth.

 

There are two points:

(1) does childbirth mean the end of athletic careers/endeavors? No. But its a helluva trauma to a body. Do you realize that a woman's whole intestines and related organs shift during gestation then have to move back? Truly a miracle. To say its no big deal is to be ignorant.

(2) well if not, then how is it that Ms. Torres can be world class? There's a presumption that its not normal so she must be doing something else. That's where its wrong. How about giving her the benefit of the doubt and enjoying the moment until shown otherwise? Its not like her shoe size changed 2 sizes and her cap size increased an inch (TIC).

 

I hope she's clean and I believe her (for now, anyway) when she says she is. I do find it stunning that the other night she swam the fast 100 of her life, at age 41, granted the swimsuit probably gets some credit for that.

And she's got one of the best smiles I've ever seen.

 

Oh, isn't it happy fun when Dic works in a Dick Pound reference ....

 

Dare-a Torrayz can has own thred, u can has laptop!


But seriously, we need DocTalk, stat!

 

All I know is that the woman is practically begging to be tested at every turn. Either she's not doping, or she knows she has the game beaten. And if she has the game beaten, you'd think she's not the only one.

I think she's clean.

Now, can I talk about our hometown girl?

 

It's just impossible to compare an Olympic athlete to the average woman who has a baby. Everything Lugz says about age and homones is true, but you can't underestimate the quality of muscle, lung capacity, endurance, cardiovascular power...it's just a different machine.