"Dara Torres: An Inspiration!" by Joboy Quintos

Dara Torres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Photo from Bryan Allison)

Dara Torres is a veteran of five Olympic Games, from the Seoul in 1988 all the way to Beijing in 2008. She had amassed a total of 12 Olympic medals, four of them gold. The then 41-year old Dara won three silver medals in Beijing. At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, the 45-year old placed fourth in the 50m freestyle finals, narrowly missing a ticket to her fifth straight Olympics.

Article by Joboy Quintos

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Godspeed, Darya!

According to Darya Klishina's (Дарья Клишина) Facebook page, Darya has been training in the Russian resort town of Sochi. Her status updates seem upbeat and positive. Judging from the training clip below, it seems as if Darya has shrugged off the ill-effects of the injury she sustained last year. 

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина"

The Olympic long jump competition will be tough, considering the fact that five women have jumped beyond seven meters outdoors this year. Darya, according to the IAAF statistics, apparently has not made her outdoor debut yet. Is she hiding her cards right up until the last possible moment? 

Read: "Darya Klishina: The Next Big Track & Field Star"

Darya en route to fourth place finish at the Istanbul World Indoors. (Photo from Erik van Leeuwen)

As the London Olympic Games near, the prospect of a nail-biting long jump grows more exciting with each passing day. 

Godspeed, Darya!

Darya Klishina and Superb Senora

I began to feature notable female athletics stars in my main blog, hurdler49, to promote the mostly underrated sport. In July 2010, I wrote about the upcoming Russian long jumper Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина . In a few months' time, her popularity shot up exponentially - and so did my blog hits. Darya is both tremendously talented and possesses super-model looks. Although she has yet to win a world title or an Olympic title, her popularity has skyrocketed dramatically.

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина"

   

Photos from IAAF and Life

I started Superb Senora as an offshoot of the original Track Beauty of the Week feature. This time around, I'll be writing about talented women from sports other than athletics in a tone that's respectful of the fairer sex. Darya, in a sense, started it all. 

Read: "Darya Klishina: The Next Big Track & Field Star

   

Photos from Erik van Leeuwen and Darya Klishina Facebook fan club

Darya has had a stellar junior and youth career. She topped the World Youth Championships in 2007, registering an impressive mark of 6.47m. She improved dramatically in the subsequent years, as shown by her splendid performance at the 2009 European Junior Championships. Darya flew 6.80m, beating hometown favorite Ivana Spanovic. 

In the junior all-time list, the Russian is second only to the great Heike Dreschler.

Read: "Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина on Trans World Sport"

   

  Photos from Rusathletics.com and EAA

Klishina was propelled into the mainstream in 2011, when the Russian topped the high profile European Indoor Championships in Paris. Darya added the European U23 title for good measure, setting a personal best of 7.05m. Unfortunately, Klishina was hobbled by an ankle injury at the latter parts of 2011. She only managed a sub-par 6.50m best leap at the Daegu World Championships, way below her personal best of 7.05m.

Read: Darya Klishina Дарья Клишина leaps 6.80m, wins European Indoor Long Jump gold

Darya underwent ankle surgery after the world championships. Her strong showing at the 2012 World Indoors, where she finished in fourth place (6.85m), is a strong signal that Klishina is on the fast track towards full recovery - and further forays beyond seven meters.

Read: London Olympics Long Jump Preview

The battle for the London Olympics gold medal will be a tough one, especially with the classy Brittney Reese in the field. A healthy Darya, however, would be a sight to behold. Despite her injury, Klishina has shown signs of maturity as she moves up the senior ranks.

A podium finish is a strong certainty, but Darya Klishina might just snag the Olympic gold!