It is no secret that Dara Torres holds many titles: mother, Olympian, author, ESPY winner and even racecar driver, to name a few. With all the accolades and honors to her name, Torres has gone down as one of the true icons in women's athletics. 

Growing up in Beverly Hills, California, her swimming journey began at age seven. Quickly rising through the local swimming ranks, she gained national attention during high school and ended up breaking the 50-meter freestyle world record in 1983 at just 16 years old.

Just one year later, Torres' decorated Olympic journey began. Making her debut at the 1984 Los Angeles games, she came away with gold in her lone event, the women's 4x100m relay. The medal added to Team USA's 21 gold medals in the pool, the most that an American swim team has ever recorded at an Olympic competition. 

Torres would go on to compete at five total Olympic competitions (the most appearances a female swimmer has had) spanning 24 years from her first to her last event. In American swimming, no other female competitor has ever competed in Olympic competitions spanning more than 12 years apart. 

Her determination to keep competing paid off, totaling 12 (four gold, four silver, four bronze) medals across her Olympic career. The mark places her at fifth on the all-time Olympic medal count list by any female in any sport.

One of her most notable performances came at the age of 41, when she became the oldest Olympic swimmer to medal and also became the first American woman to medal on an Olympic stage as a mom.

While her swimming accolades go on and on, Torres has continued to be an influence even after her retirement in 2012. In her "never-quit" mentality, she would go on to become a sports broadcaster, work within charity organizations, author three books and even drive in auto-race events such as the 42nd Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach in 2016. 

Since her debut onto the national swimming stage in 1983, Torres has always and will continue to be a trailblazer for women worldwide.