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Women on top
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Turning forty is not the end of the road for some women. There are always more mountains to conquer
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CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN Meeting physical challenges keeps women young
As Phelps was churning the Water Cube for his fast-faster-fastest medals, mom Dara Torres was making history for women — going old, older, oldest. Torres 41, won silvers in the “Splash and Dash” 50 meters freestyle, losing by a fingertip and in the 4x100 medley, where she outswam most of her opponents. If this Olympics was for swimming kids with teddy bears, it was also for those who could remember a time before the Internet. For those who came for a chance to be young.
Torres had said, “I just want to go out there for those 40-year-olds and show them age is just a number,” before becoming the oldest woman to win a medal in Olympic swimming. She faced suspicion of being on performance drugs but her win turned out to be one of “substance rather than substances.”
In the women’s marathon, 38-year-old Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania won her first Olympic gold with a significant lead. Placed 20th at the Athens Olympics, she was in better shape at Beijing than she was four years ago. “At the World Championships in Canada, everybody said I couldn’t run, but I showed today what I can do,” Tomescu told reporters.
“There is little a 40-year-old woman cannot do, if she just chooses to,” said Vidya, a writer. She should know. She was part of a group of seven forty-ish women “of assorted shapes, sizes, abilities and ailments” who successfully climbed the Half Dome (8836 ft.) at Yosemite National Park. Apart from the 15-mile hike, the Dome has a 400-foot segment of sheer granite face you scale using steel cables.
“Advances in medicine and a better understanding of health have made it possible for women to show the world what they always knew — that the forties are a time of renewal,” she said. “The inevitable triumphs and disappointments of life have straightened the tracks of our thinking.” True. When a competitor’s ripped Speedo suit panicked the other swimmers, Dara walked over to the referee and asked for a delay.
“It’s easy for stay-at-home moms to drift endlessly from task to task that supposedly need attention right then. Climbing Half Dome was big, I really enjoyed achieving that goal,” said Jaya Murthy, a member of that “expedition” and one who prefers time with friends over grinding away at a lifeless machine. The goal was especially sweet since it came after knee surgery last November. “I’ve seen people play, work or run marathons after arthroscopy surgery,” she said. “So the one big mantra is ‘believe’!”
Psychological barrier
Daisy Victor 77, who lives in Madhavaram is counting the golds (100 m, triple jump, shot put, discus) she won last month at the Malaysian Open Invitational International Meet and the ones she’ll get at the Asian Veterans’ Meet in November. “Women are not weak vessels,” she said confidently. “It’s the psychological barrier that keeps us back. We cheer men. Why don’t we go out and win?” When spoilsports ask her why she “strains”, she replies: “It is not about fame or name. It’s the thrill of winning. That’s the great satisfaction.”
Jessy Sajan, 42, a Customs official, starts her day at 5 a.m. with a jog and exercises at Vaishnava College. “Women won’t keep fit unless there is this urge to compete and win,” said this mom with a Physical Education diploma from YMCA.
“Competition helps you to be on your toes. More women should come forward to take part in sports. Why can’t we have photographs with medals around the neck?” Her own has her wearing golds for long jump, high jump, hurdles and discus from the Malaysian Meet.
In February 2007, 57-year-old Jeanne Stawiecki, a nurse anaesthetist crossed the finish line of the frigid Antarctic Marathon creating a record for running marathons in all seven continents in the shortest aggregate time for females. Not satisfied, in May, she stood on the summit of Mt. Everest, the oldest woman to climb the tallest peaks in all continents. “I want people to know I am an ordinary person doing something extraordinary,” she said. “The way you think makes all the difference in the world.”
Mountaineering helps women discover themselves, said Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest. Now 54, she recently led a nine-member all-women team to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. She too mentioned the mindset. “The average age of our group (mothers and housewives) was quite high, but we successfully reached our destination,” a jubilant Pal said. So ignore your gray roots and plunge into adventures that are compatible with your inner selves.
Aren’t the forties the perfect time for the launch? It’s guilt-free time, with family responsibilities stacked neatly in cupboards of routine. It’s the here-I-come time to follow a trail of adventure that’s all about you.
“When people tell you gloomily, “It’s all downhill from here”, think of another Olympic sport – skiing!” said Vidya. As Shreyasi Deb, HR executive said, “If sixties are the new forties, then forties are the new twenties.”
GEETA PADMANABHAN
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