The Olympic mindset
One of the most decorated Olympians in United States history, 达拉·托雷斯(Dara Torres)已加入电子游戏软件，担任男子和女子游泳队长 & diving coach.
During her competitive career, 到1984年为止，托雷斯在参加五届奥运会的过程中创造了六项世界纪录和十项美国纪录, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008—where she won four gold, four silver, and four bronze medals. 托雷斯帮助教练和指导不同年龄和技术水平的游泳运动员. A mother, swimming commentator, entrepreneur, and globally recognized health and fitness advocate, Torres is the best-selling author of the autobiography Age is Just a Number (2009), as well as Gold Medal Fitness (2010).
托雷斯称她在不列颠哥伦比亚省的任命是一个“完整的时刻”，这让她能够回馈她的运动，并在2023-24赛季停赛后重建这个项目. 她是美国游泳基金会和摩纳哥夏琳公主基金会的大使，该基金会致力于教授水上安全, prevent drowning, 并传授竞争和公平竞争的价值观——托雷斯还参加了多次横跨美国的游泳活动，以造福癌症电子游戏正规平台. 托雷斯是国际游泳名人堂和美国奥林匹克委员会名人堂的入选者.
Interviewed earlier this month, Torres discusses the upcoming summer Olympics, which begin July 26 in Paris, the athlete’s Olympic mindset, 以及她历史性的游泳生涯如何塑造了她成为学生运动员的教练和导师.
Will you be attending the Paris games?
I have a lot of work to do here and I’m in the process of moving. So I will be watching the Olympics on TV.
奥运会通常被视为超越了许多其他体育赛事. What is your take on what makes the Olympics so special?
The Olympics have been going on since 1896. 他们每四年才举办一次，他们将世界上最好的运动员聚集在一起参加一场比赛. As an athlete, 对于一个从小就想成为奥运代表队的孩子来说，这是一个梦想成真的机会.
What do you expect from USA Swimming at the Olympics in Paris?
Everyone puts high expectations on the USA swim team. It has an incredible reputation that has been earned over the years. Everyone who has made the team wants to meet those expectations. There are always highs and lows. What people expect will happen might not happen. That’s just the way the Olympics go. But the veterans of the team—Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, 还有卡莱布·德雷塞尔——看他们游得好不好一定很有趣. 还有像凯蒂·格莱姆斯(Katie Grimes)这样的年轻运动员，这是他们第一次或第二次参加奥运会. They certainly put expectations on themselves. But sometimes when the experts don’t put expectations on someone, they surprise everyone by coming out and just shining. I think we will see all of those scenarios. For the women, I think they are capable of winning the most medals. But the Australians will give them a run for the money. That is a team that is closest in all-around depth. 其他球队在某些方面也有优势，但澳大利亚女队是一支完整的球队.
Describe the mindset of an athlete when they get to the games.
当你第一次开团队会议时，你开始思考，这种心态开始形成，现实打击了你, ‘Oh my God. I’m on the Olympic team!’ Then you start training together. 美国游泳队将于7月11日至22日在北卡罗来纳州和克罗地亚进行为期9天的训练.在你的整个职业生涯中与你竞争的人现在都是你的队友. And a camaraderie develops. 这是一个你每次比赛都想击败的人，现在你在练习时和他们共用一条车道. But a camaraderie develops that’s really important. The team will likely get to the games a few days before they start. You don’t want to get there too early. 你有这么多的能量，内啡肽在分泌，你不想浪费所有的能量. So the U.S. 尽量不要在到达和开幕式之间留下太多时间.
How big a factor are pre-competition nerves?
Nerves are a factor, 100 percent. But for the U.S. contingent, everyone will tell you that the U.S. 奥运会选拔赛比奥运会本身更让人伤脑筋. That’s how strong the competition is among U.S. swimmers. You could be the world record holder that year, but if you have a bad swim in the trials, you might not make the team. So while you’re nervous about the Olympics, you’ve gotten through the worst part, which is the trials. 然后你和世界上最优秀的运动员一起参加奥运会——几乎所有的运动都是如此——再也没有比这更好的了. It is a crazy, cool feeling.
Dara Torres:“现在除了和大学游泳运动员一起工作外，我不会有任何其他方式."
在比赛开始前，你是否很难控制自己的精力和兴奋感?
You do things to try to relax and not overthink things. You see all these amazing athletes. I just tried to do things that would keep me busy. 我的想法是，在那之前，我已经完成了所有的工作——训练, the turns, the nutrition, the workouts. So I just wanted to enjoy the experience and not overthink it.
在你所有的奥运比赛中，哪一个对你来说是最重要的?
At my first Olympics, I was 17 and I was in awe of everyone else. 有像迈克尔·乔丹、帕特里克·尤因和卡尔·刘易斯这样的运动员. It was something to see. 回想起来，在那个年龄很难欣赏到游戏的某些方面. When I was 41 at my fifth Olympics, I walked into the pool and realized, ‘Wow, I’m at the Olympic games.“在我职业生涯和生活的那个阶段，我试图表达我的感激之情. I tried to thank as many people as I could. 有人问我最喜欢的奖牌是什么，我一度可以举出那枚奖牌, the race, and the time.
Now, at 57, I look at the 2008 games—my age, balancing motherhood, 参加训练——加入球队的过程可能是我职业生涯中最有价值的. I learned to juggle so many different things. I won a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle. 我在决赛中是第一种子选手，我碰了壁，没有赢. I saw a ‘2’ by my name on the scoreboard. I thought, ‘OK.“然后我看了一下成绩，胜利者比我快了百分之一秒. Now, I always wanted to win. I did briefly think, ‘Do I have to do this again at age 45?’ I was beside myself. One hundredth of a second. This was horrible. 但当我从北京坐飞机回家的时候，我想:“我还能做些什么呢??’ There was no answer. I had given it all I had. I left no stone unturned. 我尽了全力，那天我应该做的是赢得一枚银牌，因为那是百分之一秒.
How have those Olympic experiences influenced your work as a coach, mentor, and a health and fitness advocate?
除了和大学游泳运动员合作，我没有别的选择. BC有传统，有氛围，有环境来打造一个伟大的项目. So it was a job that piqued my interest. Obviously, 孩子们去年度过了艰难的一年，他们已经在联盟垫底有一段时间了. I’ve had many trials and tribulations in my life, 但重要的是你如何向他们学习，把他们放在后视镜里，继续前进. 我在挑战中茁壮成长，将乐趣带回项目将是一个挑战. 我想给他们信心，帮助我们的运动员充分发挥他们的潜力. But fun is important. 有些人把竞技游泳描述为在训练期间在泳池底部“游黑线”. It can get monotonous. So I want to get these student-athletes back to having fun. 我想以教练的身份帮助他们，分享我对游泳和比赛的热情. This is a chance to really give back to back to the sport.
在你的运动中达到最高水平对你的教练有什么影响?
“有些运动员已经达到了他们的顶级水平，他们来到这里，试图指导他们的运动员，让他们做他们曾经做过的事情. That can be frustrating for the athletes. I learned as a parent that my child is a good athlete, but each child is different as a person and as an athlete. So my goal is to help each one reach their potential. It is about them and their goals and not about what I have done.