Middle School
Worksheets
Dara Torres, Olympic Swimmer
Dara Torres
Reading Comprehension for April 15
Dara Torres has set many records. Even before Beijing 2008, she was the only female swimmer to earn medals for the United States in three back-to-back Olympic Games. She was the first American swimmer to compete in four Olympics. She became the oldest American athlete (male or female) to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming.
Dara began swimming on a team when she was eight years old. At age thirteen, she spent up to five hours training every day. At the age of fourteen, she swam in her first international race. When she was sixteen, she won a gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games, an international competition.
She retired after the 1992 Olympics. She came out of retirement for the 2000 Olympics to win more medals. She was thirty-three years old at the time. She earned a total of nine Olympic medals. Four are gold, one is silver, and four are bronze. Five of these were won at the 2000 Olympics. She was the oldest member on the team. She was the first American swimmer to compete in four Olympics: 1984, 1988, 1992, and 2000. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, she set new world records in two events. They were the 50 meter freestyle and the 100 meter butterfly.
