Courtesy: Maccabi USA
Philadelphia, PA –Dara Torres, a 12-time Olympic Medalist in swimming, will serve as the Head Coach of the U17 Swim Team at the Maccabiah taking place in Israel this summer from June 30 – July 14, 2026. Dara competed with Team USA at the 1984, 1988,1992, 2000, and 2008 Olympics, winning gold medals in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay on three separate occasions, along with a Gold Medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay. Torres has held world records in each of these events, along with three separate world record times in the 50-meter freestyle. Dara Torres famously made two historic comebacks in both 2000 and 2008, where she won a combined eight medals and was recognized as the Best Comeback Athlete at the 2009 ESPY Awards.
“I am incredibly excited and honored to coach the U17 swim team at the Maccabiah,” said Dara Torres. “Being able to share my experiences with the next generation of Jewish swimmers and help them grow both in and out of the pool is truly meaningful to me.” All our Swimming team members will be part of the overall USA Team – that will be 1,300+ members strong – and the largest Maccabiah yet.
Torres will coach the U17 Swim Team alongside Assistant Coach Marlene Bruten, who competed for Team Mexico in the 1988 Olympics. They will join Open Head Coach Jim Skirboll, a Level 5 Certified Coach from the American Swimming Coaches Association, and Open Assistant Coach Carey Apple as the coaching staff for the U.S. Delegation at the 2026 Maccabiah.
The 2026 Maccabiah will be the world’s second-largest international sporting event and will consist of over 10,000 athletes from 80 countries participating in over 40 different sports. To learn more about the sports and age divisions offered, please visit www.maccabiusa.com.
The Maccabiah Games is more than an international sporting competition; it is a celebration of Jewish culture, unity, and pride. Israel Connect, Maccabi USA’s unique cultural and educational program, takes place for seven days following the formal conclusion of the Games. All Junior, Open and Paralympic athletes participate in the program where they have the opportunity to tour historical and religious sites, take part in cultural identity seminars and train with their teams, all while developing lifelong relationships.
Previous Maccabiah participants from the USA have included Anthony Ervin, Jason Lezak, Lenny Krayzelburg, Garrett Weber-Gale, Mark Spitz and many more national-level athletes.
ABOUT THE MACCABIAH – Traditionally held every four years, the first Maccabiah took place in Israel in 1932 with athletes from 18 countries. By 2017, the games grew to include nearly 10,000 Jewish athletes from more than 60 countries, making it the second largest international multi-sport event, and one of the largest gatherings of the Jewish diaspora around the globe. In July 2022, Maccabi USA sent its largest-ever delegation of more than 1,300 to Israel, larger than the traditional USA Olympic Team.
ABOUT MACCABI USA – Maccabi USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with an extensive history of enriching Jewish lives through athletic, cultural and educational programs. Maccabi USA is the official sponsor of the United States team to the World Maccabiah Games, the Pan American and European Maccabi Games, and the Maccabi Youth Games, as well as a sponsor of the JCC Maccabi Games for teens in North America.
member when the bridge collapsed in 2005? that was a bad situation
In Minneapolis?
What?
My mistake- it was actually at the 1997 Maccabiah Games in Israel. As the Australian delegation was coming into the opening ceremonies, the temporary bridge that athletes would use to cross the river into the stadium collapsed and tons of the Aussie athletes fell into the toxic river below.
Oh. Yes. That was tragic. I think 4 died.
That was promised to her 3000 years ago
CONGRATS Dara!
My apologies if I missed it but what is the qualification for the games?
I remember my friend raising money for this, I’m guessing this is self funded as well.
According to AI: “Maccabi USA swimming selection doesn’t use fixed qualifying times like USA Swimming national teams; instead, it relies on an application process where athletes submit their best times for evaluation by the sport’s committee, often looking for strong performances comparable to national or collegiate standards, with team selection based on ranking those submitted times to fill spots across different age divisions (Open, Junior, Masters) for the upcoming 2026 Games.”
It is usually mostly self-funded (I represented in 2005). Team selection is based on verifiable best times within a certain time frame, but you have to submit an application to be considered.
Congratulations Dara
Dumb question: if Israel was founded in 1948 (https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/creation-israel), how is it that “…the first Maccabiah took place in Israel in 1932 with athletes from 18 countries.”
It was in Tel Aviv, at the time in British Mandatory Palestine.
Zionism must end. The Maccabiah is a great idea at heart, bring Jewish athletes from around the world together. I love that. But we are no longer in the 1930s, and the state of Israel today is and has been a threat to world peace and American National Security for some time. At this point, the macciabiah is a tool of zionism, and the positive experiences of the youth athletes participating in the games will be used as political positivity to share with the world while the state of Israel tries to hide a genocide and harbors extreme numbers of child sexual abusers.
I wonder how Dara, the other american coaches, and american athletes feels about the estimated 20,000+ Palestinian… Read more »
Braden is this tolerated on the site? “Zionism must end” this is not the right forum for this discussion.
AmericanDad, you have written a call to violence on an article about Dara Torres coaching. If you hold all those beliefs, you are free to visit the country and spectate the games to see for yourself how misguided you are.
No calls to violence were written and I wished no ill will on Dara. I asked an honest question, how does she feel about the genocide? Calling for an end to zionism is not a call to violence; it is a call for the zionists to end their desire for an ethnostate (Because ethnostates result in genocides).
Also, I do recognize that experiencing the games can be a positive experience for the kids. However, in present politics, the Maccabiah is being used as a tool to support zionism.
P.S. In my view, a call for the end of a genocide isn’t politics. It’s just how humans should behave.
It is 100% a call for violence. Calling for an end to Zionism is calling for an end of 97% of the Jews worldwide. Why do you treat Zionism like it’s a virus? Any other ethnicity can have hopes to live in their ancestral homeland but Jews can’t? Why? And don’t give me the crap about Jews aren’t really from the land go learn some history.. Zionism literally come from the word Zion – a mountain in Jerusalem.
Correction: Israel is not an ‘Ethnostate” and Judaism is not a religion.
Jews, Persians and Chinese are the three remaining “Peoples” from antiquity. Being Persian or Being Chinese is the same as being Jewish. Let’s skip the history lesson with the exception that the word, the identity of Jew comes from the Hebrew word Judaean as in the Judaean Hills surrounding Israel’s capital Jerusalem.
American Dad, crack a book or get on a plane to see for yourself because the more you say the more obvious you’re overdosing on Candace, Nick, Tucker and Qatar.
Why bother replying. It’s either click bait or flat earth insistors. At least get the argument right. If I’m correct no less that 12 nonsensical assertions, I think the only things missing were accusing Israel of using the blood of Christian children to make Passover Matza and accusing Israel of killing Jesus. Did I miss anything else?
Free Palestine!
from Islamic terrorists.
Swimswam commenters really do live on another planet huh
Let Me try my hand at Yhis:
We Got an Israel Palestine debate in The Swim swam comments Dara Torres comment section article section comments before GRAND theft auto 6 (I DID NOT commit grand theft auto/aqua).
Randy
I was sure the Israel-hating comments would show up — very predictable.
The Zionism on swimswam is shocking
Free Palestine
The Zionism and anti-Zionism on SwimSwam actually seems pretty even
Free Dark Vader and free Palestine