Michael Lohberg, Dara Torres’ Coach, Battling Potentially Fatal Condition

MIAMI, Florida, July 25. NEWS for Team USA just will not get any better with the 2008 Beijing Games quickly approaching. First, news came out that Eric Shanteau has testicular cancer. Next, the bombshell that Jessica Hardy tested positive for clenbuterol dropped earlier this week. Now, probably the most heartbreaking of them all is that Dara Torres' coach Michael Lohberg, 58, is fighting "aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder that could be fatal," according to the Miami Herald.

"It's really, really bad," Lohberg said by phone to the Miami Herald late Thursday. "They told me I might last only weeks, or maybe even days. It's bad. I knew something was wrong because I was very tired and out of breath, but I thought it was from my herniated disk and all the stress. Turns out it's a disaster. I have nothing left in my blood, and I have to get to the specialists by 8 a.m. Friday because without treatment, I might not make it to Monday."

Torres also spoke with the paper.

"It's so awful, really, really terrible," Torres said by phone to the Miami Herald from California. "I can't even talk about it right now. I haven't stopped crying."

Full text of the Miami Herald.

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