Olympic Coach Faces Aplastic Anemia

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Michael Lohberg, 58-year-old coach of Olympic swimmer Dara Torres and seven other Olympians, was diagnosed in July with Aplastic Anemia. Local physicians told him he had only weeks to live before he went to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for treatment. He has been treated there since July 24 by Dr. Neal Young, an expert from the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. Lohberg's sister is being tested as a possible bone marrow match.

Dara Torres has now traveled to China for the Bejing Olympics and will compete without her coach, although she talks with him daily. Torres, 41, is a headline swimmer who competed in the 1984, 1988, 1992, and 2000 Olympics, winning four gold medals and nine medals overall, and is the oldest American swimmer to qualify for the Olympics. She is a medal contender in two events: the 50-meter freestyle and the 4x100 meter freestyle relay.

Photos from CBS news


Michael Lohberg, coach of swimmer Dara Torres


Coach Lohberg and Dr. Neal Young at NIH

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To play a video clip about Dara Torres and Michael Lohberg from the CBS Evening News, August 5, 2008, click here.

Dr. Young can be seen at 1:51 into the video.

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Despite not having her coach with her, Dara Torres won silver medals in both of her events at the Beijing Olympics.

According the the Palm Beach Post, she said

It's not about what I have been doing in this sport this past couple of years. Michael was part of that team, and together we wrote that story. It's unfortunate he couldn't be here to help finish it.

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Following his treatment at the National Institutes of Health, Michael Lohberg returned home to Weston, Florida. Dara Torres has visited him, and he's been able to stop by the pool to talk to swimmers and other coaches. He may still face a bone marrow transplant next year, depending on the outcome of his aplastic anemia treatments.

There will be a "3K Family Fun Run, Walk, Stroll" event in his honor and to raise funds for his medical expenses on Sunday, November 16, 2008, at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

For further information, see any of the following:

• Run-walk set in Lohberg's honor (news story)
• Coral Springs Swim Club website
• Registration form (628K PDF)
• CarePages: "coachmichaelsfight" (free registration required)

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Coach Michael Lohberg continued to undergo treatment, first at NIH and then at Memorial Hospital West in Florida, and was able to coach and even travel in 2009. However, he continued to battle aplastic anemia throughout 2010 and treatments became less effective.

Early in 2011 he went into a cardiac arrest after an infection and never fully recovered. He was moved to hospice care in February and passed away in April at age 61.

Coach Lohberg is remembered as an inspirational and dedicated swimming coach, husband, and father. He was a role model to hundreds of swimmers and other coaches.

A more detailed account of his life can be found at the South Florida Aquatic Club website.