Judoka Xian Dongmei wins the fifth gold for China. It seems like Chinese athletes are not buckling under the tremendous hometown pressure. Good for them. I hope my favorite, Liu Xiang, will pass the test as well.

Meanwhile, it’s still all quiet on the western front. They have two gold medals so far after two days of Olympic competition. Should the Americans start worrying now? Well, it’s too early to tell.

Going back to Xian Dongmei, we should include her in our Dara Mama Club or the elite group of older women athletes or working moms who are participating in the Olympics. Xian is 32 years old [kind of old for sports in general] and is a proud mom to her 18 month old daughter.

A quote from Xian on being a working mom/athlete [via xinhuanet]:

“It is very common for judokas from other countries to continue their career with families, but in China I am probably the only mama judoka for the moment” Xian said.

[Read more →]

Meet the newest member of our Dara Mama Club: Australian basketball player, Rohanee Cox. Here’s some info about Rohanee from olympics.com.au:

During the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season in 2000, Rohanee Cox suffered severe anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) damage to her left knee.

The injury looked sure to end her basketball career when two seasons later while playing for Perth, she damaged the same knee again.

“Back then, I never thought I would play basketball again,” Cox said.

“I lost my passion for the game and took much needed time out.”

[Read more →]

Argh! This is bad news to the fans of Australian hurdler Jana Rawlinson and to those of us who are certified members of the Dara Mama Fans Club.

Jana, according to reports, will not be participating in the Beijing Olympics because of a toe injury. Bad, bad, bad toe. Why did it “decide” to get injured at this time. Jana is currently the world record holder in the 400 meter hurdles so she really has a good chance of bagging the gold medal in Beijing.

Anyways, we here at The Olympics Blog hope that Jana Mama — she’s mom to one year old Cornelis Levi — will emulate Dara Torres and that she will continue to pursue her Olympic dreams despite this recent setback.

By the way, the Dara Mama Fans Club — named after Dara Torres — are composed of those of us cheering for mom Olympians who are proving that neither motherhood nor old age is a hindrance to Olympic success. Go, Dara Mamas.

Related:
Dara Torres Makes Another Olympic Bid
Dara Mama Club: Melanie Roach

[Read more →]

We are starting a Dara Torres LOLCATZ campaign. Why, you ask? Because she beats kedz in the zwimming poolz. Our LOLCATZ campaign is our way of supporting her for inspiring us oldies.

Go, Dara! Good luck in Beijing.

Related:
Dara Torres Makes Another Olympic Bid
Dara Torres in Action and All

Photo source: LATimes

Because a lot of you are looking for more Dara Torres pictures, I decided to upload more of them. This is Dara posing for Maxim Magazine.And here’s Dara in action; swimming and training in the gym.

Added Note: Join us as we monitor the gold medal race between China and the United States, here.

Related: Dara Torres Makes Another Olympic Bid and introducing the Dara Torres LOLCATz.

Photo sources: maximonline and nytimes