LOS ANGELES: In a sport littered with precocious prodigies, 41-year-old swimming mom Dara Torres shatters the mold.
Torres was a talented teen herself when she won her first Olympic swimming gold in Los Angeles in 1984.
Now she'll tackle her fifth Games campaign in Beijing alongside teammates and rivals young enough to be her children.
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Dara Torres celebrates winning the semifinal of the 50m freestyle and setting a new American record of 24.38 sec during the US swimming Olympic trials on July 5 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. [Agencies]
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US superstar Michael Phelps, 23, calls Torres his "sort-of mom".
Torres, whose daughter Tessa was born in 2006, says she prefers to think of herself as a "big sister" or maybe "aunt" to her teammates.
"It's nice to be able to be there for the kids if they have questions," Torres says. "They probably feel comfortable talking to me. I feel like I'm on their level on one hand, but I have all this experience on the other hand that I'm maybe not on their level.
"I'll take that as a compliment that Phelps refers to me as the mom, but I don't know if the kids think that."
Torres owns nine Olympic medals, starting with that first relay gold in '84.
Her five medals in 2000 capped a comeback from a seven-year retirement.
When she launched her latest return, Torres was aiming for another relay berth, and she surprised herself with a victory in the 100m freestyle, ahead of American record-holder Natalie Coughlin, at the US trials.
"I was shocked when I touched the wall. I couldn't see the scoreboard," Torres said. "With my age and everything, I said 'what does that say?'
"Then I heard the announcer and I could kind of see it blurry. They need to make those numbers a little bigger up there for people my age."
After winning the 50m free at the trials, Torres has elected to forego the 100m free individual event in Beijing, preferring to focus her energy on the one-lap sprint and relays.
