Stuff to Blog About and More: Dara Torres

Who says 41 is too old to compete in the Olympics?
Not Dara Torres

Dara Torres

She's 41 years old, has a two-year-old daughter, and won her first Olympic medal, a relay gold, in 1984. Torres is training to make the 2008 US Olympic team. Torres set the American record in the 50-meter freestyle just a few months ago.

The Olympic Trials are going on right now in Omaha, NE. The women's 50-meter freestyle preliminaries take place on July 5 with the final on July 6, broadcast live on NBC. It is more than two decades after she first entered the national stage as a 17-year-old Olympian, once again Dara Torres prepares to dive in and stage her third comeback as she tries to make the U.S.

Torres will attempt to qualify for her fifth Olympic Games (1984, '88, '92, '00) in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events. She would be the oldest female swimmer to compete in the Games.

"You can't put an age on your dreams," said Torres, who is swimming faster now than she did at the University of Florida and broke her own American 50-meter freestyle record last year.

If she makes it to Beijing, it will mark 24 years since Torres competed in her first games -- it was 1984 when Torres got the opportunity to perform in front of her hometown of Los Angeles.

"I'd like people to say, 'This is fantastic that a middle-aged woman can be doing this -- who's a mom,'" Torres said.

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

You can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read Your Access to Free Credit Reports.