The US Olympic trials ended with Michael Phelps cheering from the stands after another dominating meet, Katie Hoff savoring her emergence as a potential star in China, and Dara Torres scoring another win for middle-age mothers everywhere.
Next stop, Beijing.
Phelps, who rested on Sunday after locking up his eight-event program for Beijing, is ready to make another run at Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at a Summer Games. He'll go in as?the Olympic icon after winning six golds in Athens and giving every indication he'll do even better at these games.
Hoff will be nearly as busy in Beijing. The 19-year-old swimmer earned a spot in five individual races and assured herself of at least a relay.
Then there's Torres, who might get as much TV time at these Olympics as anyone. After all, it's not often that a 41-year-old woman comes out of retirement - her second long layoff, actually - and re-emerges as one of her country's best athletes.
After having a baby, no less.
"I've gotten so many wonderful e-mails and messages from people and from friends of friends who have said that they feel like they can go out and do things that they've put off, that they thought they couldn't do," Torres said. "But they have to remember that they're also inspiring me."
Torres won her second event of the trials on Sunday with another American record in the 50-meter freestyle. She'll be the oldest US swimmer ever to compete at the Olympics, but she wants so much more. "I can't sit here and lie and say, 'Oh, I'm just glad I'm going,"' said Torres, who again took two-year-old Tessa to the awards stand before heading off to her fifth Olympics. "I want a medal."
Having already won the 100 freestyle on Friday, Torres got off to the third-slowest start but she was in control by midway and touched in 24.25 seconds, eclipsing the mark of 24.38 she set in the semifinals.
Jessica Hardy claimed the second Olympic spot in 24.82.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 8, 2008)