No this is not about Fernando Torres, although that would make headlines just as much.
Dara Torres falls short for Olympics
45-year-old Dara Torres had to leave her Olympic dreams wet as she finished fourth in the finals of the women’s 50-meter freestyle. And oh the gasp she gave!
Monday brings blues to all working and school-going individuals but Torres really got them straight down in the waves of the Olympics trials in Omaha. She was the oldest woman of the swimmers and the ones who beat her are almost 20 years younger to her.
She was all ready to get her golden ticket; she had picked out her lane, she had the past wins to boost her into the race but alas it did not go as expected. Torres has 12 medals to her name. She also got recognized for being the oldest American swimmer who won an Olympic medal. She first won a gold back in the year 1984 for a 4×100-meter relay. That was the only event that she was participating in at the time.
But for this race, Torres missed the third position by 24.82 seconds. The incredible disappointment was clearly visible on her face as she saw the scoreboard with her name in the fourth position. She cupped her hands around her mouth and widened her eyes and then said “This is it”.
The first two swimmers have secured their position in the Olympics as a part of the US team. The first one was Jessica Hardy who timed 24.50 seconds and then was Kara Lynn Joyce with 24.73 seconds. Right before Torres was 26 year old Christine Magnuson who timed 24.78.
But Torres leaves with a pool full of memories. As she hugged and congratulated the winners, she was asked about her experience after so many years. She went on to say that she was glad she held on. It has been almost 30 years that Torres has been a part of the sport and she took it slow while bidding farewell to it all. She looked around, sighed and then out on a brave smile.
Torres had an incredible journey till here. She took time of for family and child upbringing for which she had to miss the 2004 Olympics. Her coach passed away last year due to a blood disease and she continued without a trainer.
And after all the standing waves and resonances, Torres, like all others, must be proud of herself.
Tags: Dara Torres, Olympic, Olympics, Swimming
