Washington - US swimmer Dara Torres' made the Olympics team Friday night at age 41, swimming to first place in the 100-metre freestyle final in Oklahoma and becoming the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics. "Hard work and perseverance" was her answer when asked afterwards how she defied the odds of an aging body to clinch a place on the USA team.
She was fast off the mark and took an old-fashioned turn midway while her younger team mates - some of them only half her age - took the more modern dolphin kick out of the turn.
At race end, she squinted up at the clock and still did not know she had won until she was told.
"I couldn't see the scoreboard," she said. "It must be my eyes."
Over the weekend, Torres is to also compete in the 50-metre freestyle event, which had been seen as her best chance of becoming the oldest female swimming qualifier in Olympic history.
Clinching the 100-metre-freestyle was a surprise.
This is Torres' second comeback. She competed in the 2000 Olympics after a seven-year retirement, and won five medals. She became a mother in April 2006, and then started planning another comeback.
"Everyone says I should be used to this. But I feel like I'm 16, getting ready for my first trials," a Dallas MOrning News report said quoted Torres as saying earlier this week. "I'm nervous. I'm excited. I can't wait to stand up and compete."
