Dazzling Dreams of Olympic Gold at 41

June 30, 2008 — -- More than two decades after she first entered the national stage as a 17-year-old Olympian, once again Dara Torres prepares to dive in and stage her third comeback as she tries to make the U.S. Olympic swim team.

Torres has already made sports history as the first U.S. Olympian to compete in four games. She now hopes to earn a ticket to August's Beijing games, during the Olympic trials from June 29 to July 1.

What makes her quest even more remarkable is that, at 41 years old, Torres is long past the age of the majority of competitive swimmers.

"I'd like people to say, 'This is fantastic that a middle-aged woman can be doing this -- who's a mom,'" Torres said.

She is poised to reach her goal and is swimming the best laps of her life. Last year, at age 40 she broke the American record in the 50m freestyle. It was the record she set during the 2000 Sydney Olympics and served as her 15th career national title -- 25 years after her first one came in 1982.

If she makes it to Beijing, it will mark 24 years since Torres competed in her first games -- it was 1984 when Torres got the opportunity to perform in front of her hometown of Los Angeles.

While, at the time, many of her current competitors were in diapers or not yet born, Torres was busy grabbing her first medal -- a gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay. It was her only event during the games.

Her success continued throughout the decade. She nabbed a silver and bronze medal in Seoul, Korea, in 1988 before she opted to retire in 1989.

But she wouldn't stay out of the competitive pool for long. Fueled by her seventh place finish in the 100m freestyle, the swimmer eagerly trained for the 1992 Barcelona games in Spain. She netted yet another gold in the 4x100m free relay and then bowed out of competitive swimming for the second time.

Seven years later, a friend of Torres suggested the then-32-year-old swimmer consider returning to the sport. She initially balked at the idea before deciding to give it another go.