By Sportswriter Chang Ai-ling
BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Having 10 Olympic medals, five-time Olympian Dara Torres of the Unites States is ready to grab her first individual Olympic gold medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle in Beijing.
Torres, the only one in the semifinals born in the 1960s, stormed to the finish in 24.27 Saturday, easily qualifying for the final, which was crowded with swimmers born in the 1980s and even 1990s.
Swimming side by side with her in the semifinal was Australia's 16-year-old wunderkind Cate Campbell, who touched the pad second.
"She's an incredible woman, amazing. She's very impressive. I can tell you I don't want to be swimming when I'm 40. She's an amazing competitor," said Campbell, who was born eight years after Torres grabbed her first Olympic relay gold in Los Angeles.
Torres has announced her retirement twice. The first time she returned to the pool was for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, then she had been out of the pool for seven years, quitting after the 1992 Olympic Games and missing the 1996 Games in her homeland.
Despite this long lay-off she managed to win five medals in Sydney, two relay gold medals and three bronze. She then retired again, feeling there was not much left for her to prove.
After another long period out of the pool, and a daughter, Torres decided to return to the Olympics one more time to prove that age, and motherhood, do not spell the end of an athletic career.
"I've had so many people come up to me and say they'd love to see a 40-year-old make the Olympic team, so if it inspires others, then it's rewarding for me, too." Torres said before coming to Beijing.
In Beijing, Torres proved herself with a silver medal in the women's 4X100 freestyle relay. Her chance at an individual Olympic gold comes on Sunday, where she will race against world record holders and world champions, like Australia's Libby Trickett and Germany's Britta Steffen.
"I'm just going to give it my all tomorrow and see what happens," Torres said.
