never say never

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154 READER’S DIGEST rd.com 06/08 THESE REMARKABLE ATHLETES TRUMPS EVERYTHING, Dara Torres The 41-year-old is competing for an Olympic spot against women half her age. “Whenever anyone says anything negative,” she says, “it motivates me more.”

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I reported and wrote the piece of this feature on Donald Arthur.

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Page 1: Never Say Never

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THESE REMARKABLE ATHLETESTRUMPS EVERYTHING,

DaraTorresThe41-year-old iscompeting for anOlympic spot againstwomenhalf her age.“Whenever anyonesaysanythingnegative,” she says,“itmotivatesmemore.”

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A hard, cold rain sweeps over an outdoor pool at the CoralSprings Aquatic Complex in South Florida, driving bystandersto huddle under an awning.In the pool, Dara Torres keeps swimming. Lap after method-

ical lap, flip turn after flip turn, she cuts through her lane witha muscular freestyle. And when lifeguards sound a lightning

155D O N A L D M I R A L L E / A L L S P O R T / G E T T Y I M A G E S

NeverNeverSay

PROVE THAT ATTITUDENO MATTER HOW STEEP THE ODDS

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in the Olympic Games. She’s also ig-nored conventional wisdom and thedismissive comments of other athletes.“Some competitors of mine say

I’m too old,” says Torres, a four-timeOlympian who’s won four goldmedalsand is the mother of a two-year-oldgirl. “Someone was quoted saying, ‘Idon’t knowwhy she’s still swimming.She should be staying home takingcare of her kid.’ As long as I’m swim-ming as fast as they are, what’sthe problem?”Actually, she’s swimming faster.

The Olympic trials begin on June 29,and Torres is currently the fastestAmerican woman in her event: the50-meter freestyle.“You shouldn’t put an age on your

dreams,” she says. “People need to try,not say, ‘I can’t do this because I’mtoo old.’” R o b e r t S p e n c e r K n o t t s

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BYRUDYARCHULETA/R

EDUX

DARREN

ENGLAND/A

LLSPORT/G

ETTYIM

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alarm, warning the swimmers out ofthe pool, she persists, refusing to bedeterred even as the storm builds.At 41, nearly twice the age of most

world-class athletes in her sport,Torres has defied more than justweather in her historic bid to becomethe first over-40 swimmer to compete

DonaldArthur ticks off themarathonshe’s done in the last 12 years: NewYork City (ten times), Los Angeles,Alaska … 27 in all. His goal is to com-plete the grueling 26.2-mile road racein each of the 50 states; he has 34 to go.And yet it wasn’t so long ago that

Arthur couldn’t so much as chew hisfoodwithout becoming exhausted. “Towalk a block could take memore thanan hour,” says the 63-year-old retiredbookkeeper, who lives in the Bronx,New York. Facing death from dilatedcardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart heblames on decades of cigarettes and

alcohol, Arthur had only one option,his doctors told him: a transplant.He recalls the precise moment—

6:10 p.m. on August 2, 1996—when hegot the call that a donor heart had be-come available. A 25-year-old mannamed Fitzgerald Gittens had diedfrom a bullet intended for someoneelse. After five hours in surgery,Arthur had a brand-new heart. Soonenough, he could walk up stairs with-out tiring.That was just the beginning. A fel-

low patient told him about theAchilles Track Club, which helps peo-

ROAD WARRIOR

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DonaldArthur“Afamilywaswillingtogiveme their lovedone’sheart,” saysthe63-year-oldmarathoner andtransplant recipient.“Now I’mnotgoingto let anythingstopme.”

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BrittanyBlytheAmputated legsdidn’tkeep this 18-year-oldfrombecomingacheerleader. “Shenever cared if shegotfunny looks,” saysaformer teacher. “Shenever let anythingintimidateher.”

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durance. Fifteen months after histransplant, he finished his first NewYork City Marathon.In 2001, in the prelude to the Win-

ter Games, Arthur carried the Olympictorch on part of its journey. But hismost memorable run was the 1999New York City Marathon, when hewas accompanied by Mack Andrews,the brother of the man whose heartnow beats in his chest.“I put Mack’s hand over my heart

once we finished,” Arthur says, “and Itold him that his brother lives on.”

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BYSTEVEBOYLE

ple with disabilities run marathons.Arthur contacted the club’s president,who told him he could complete amarathon if he trained hard enough.“I thought he was crazy, but I went

down to the club anyway and saw peo-ple who were blind and people inwheelchairs,” Arthur says. “I washooked—absolutely hooked—by theway these individuals looked at life.”The club, he says, “gave me a belief

in myself.” He joined its six-mile walksaround Central Park, then moved upto racewalking to improve his en-

K a t h r y n M . T y r a n s k i a n d N e e n a S a m u e l

In seventh grade, Brittany Blythedreamed of being a cheerleader. Herschool’s coaches were less than en-thusiastic. “They said, ‘I don’t knowhowyou’ll be able to do it,’” she recalls.“‘You won’t be able to do the stunts.’”But Brittany, now a junior at Strath

Haven High School near Philadelphia,persisted. And when the junior var-sity cheerleaders won a tournamentlast year, she was right there, dancingand cheeringwith the rest of the squad.Not bad for someone whose legs

were amputated below the knee whenshe was two years old.Brittany, 18, was born without

shinbones—“just blood and muscletissue,” as she puts it. When she triedto walk, her legs twisted and buckled.After the amputation, she adapted

quickly. “From day one, I basicallyjumped up and wanted to do every-

thing,” she says. Prosthetic legs al-lowed her to move around upright,but too slowly to keep up with herfriends. Brittany’s solution: take thelegs off and walk on her knees—something she still does when safetyand comfort permit.She’s rarely daunted. Other children

teased her through the years, espe-cially in junior high school, but shesays the challenge only made herstronger. Now she’s trying to convinceher coaches to let her shed the pros-theses and be a flyer, the cheerleaderwho’s thrown in the air and caught byher teammates.Brittany doesn’t think her problems

are any more difficult than the nextperson’s. “My disability was the firstthing I had to get through, and that’sgoing to prepare me for the future,”she says. “It’s all just a test: If someonethrows you a curveball, what are you

HIGH FLYER