In what has become a remarkable story, Parkland, Florida resident Dara Torres, who earlier at the Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, had already secured a spot on the Team USA, raised the bar even higher.
The amazing and inspiring 41-year-old Torres won the 50-meter freestyle Sunday night and in the process set another another American record, giving her the chance to swim two individual events in the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Doing the impossible has become commonplace for Torres who emerged from her second retirement, just two years after having a baby, to reclaim her role as the USA’s top woman sprint swimmer. As if it matters, she’ll be the oldest member of Team USA to swim at the Olympic games.
However the script isn’t complete on this epic tale. “I can’t sit here and lie and say, ‘Oh, I’m just glad I’m going,’” said Parkland’s Torres, who’ll be in her fifth Olympics. “I want a medal.”
After her first appearance at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Torres became known as one of the best swimmers in the world, winning a gold medal at the age of 17. Since then, she has earned eight more medals in her career.
“I can’t believe that I’m back here doing this again,” Torres said. “There are times when I feel 40 and I feel like there’s a piano on my back. And there are times when I feel like I’m 20 and just flying through the water.”
Having already won the 100 free Friday, Torres got off to the third-slowest start in the most frenetic lap in swimming. But she was in control midway through, touching in 24.25 seconds to eclipse the mark of 24.38 she set the previous night in the semifinals.
Jessica Hardy claimed the second Olympic spot in 24.82, beating Lara Jackson by six-hundredths of a second. Torres will talk with U.S. national team coach Mark Schubert about possibly withdrawing from the 100, worried her body can’t take the grind of two individual events, especially when she likely will swim two relays, too.
“I’m hoping to go somewhat fast because they have girls in the world that are going 24.1 and 23.9, and I have five more weeks to try to drop a couple tenths to hopefully be in competition with those girls,” said Torres, who recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
“It’s a nice feeling when someone my age comes up to me and says, ‘you really inspire me to get back into doing this or get back into doing that,’” Torres said.
“And in that sense, it’s nice to be the age that I am and going for a fifth Olympics, hopefully opening the doors for other people who maybe had put an age limit on their dreams.”
Congratulations Dara!
Homes For Sale In Parkland, Florida
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contributing sources: ABC News / Sun-Sentinel
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