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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:15 a.m., Friday, July 25, 2008

Olympics: Dara Torres' swim coach seriously ill

Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Dara Torres' swim coach is traveling to the National Institutes of Health instead of training camp in Singapore after being diagnosed with a rare, potentially fatal blood disorder.

Michael Lohberg says he's suffering from aplastic anemia. He told The Miami Herald late Thursday that "it's really, really bad," and that doctors have told him he might only have days to live.

The disorder causes bone marrow to stop producing enough new blood cells. Treatment can include blood transfusions or a bone marrow transplant.

The 58-year-old coach planned to take a friend's private plane to the NIH in Maryland early Friday.

Torres and seven other Olympic swimmers from five other countries train under Lohberg in South Florida.