Dara Torres misses making 6th Olympic swim team

Dara Torres, 45, (C), waves towrads the direction of her daughter following the women's 50M Freestyle final on the last day of the 2012 US Olympic Team Trials on July 2, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska. / GettyImages

(AP) OMAHA, Neb. - Dara Torres lingered in the water after the other swimmers had climbed out.

Her long career was finally over.

She wanted to soak up the moment as long as possible.

The 45-year-old Torres came up short in her bid to make it to the Olympics for a sixth time. She finished fourth in the final of the 50-meter freestyle Monday night, her only event at the U.S. swimming trials.

After winning three silver medals at the Beijing Olympics, Torres underwent radical knee surgery and put all her hopes into a chaotic dash from one end of the pool to the other. But Jessica Hardy won in 24.50 seconds, while Kara Lynn Joyce took the other Olympic spot in 24.73.

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Torres missed a trip to London by nine-hundredths of a second, also touching behind third-place Christine Magnuson (24.78). Torres smiled when she saw her time and hugged both Hardy and Joyce. When Torres finally got out, she began motioning for her young daughter, Tessa, to join her.

Torres walked into the stands, still dripping wet, and scooped up Tessa, who was wearing a green shirt that said "Go Mom."

In the last event of the eight-day trials, Andrew Gemmell won the grueling 1,500 freestyle in 14 minutes, 52.19 seconds. Connor Jaeger was right with him all the way, taking the second spot for London in 14:52.51.

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[Raptorsmasher]

There comes a time in all our lives where we just can't keep up like we used to.

[Henri_Rochard]

Hours and hours of hard work. Great attempt, Ms. Torres. Nicely done.

Be sure to keep those great abs !!

[parisdakar]

Ahh, the Olympics. When else do you get to see so many firm female bodies in skimpy form fitting outfits. Never get tired.

[RealiteBites]

Remember when everybody thought Marion Jones was clean because she passed all the steroid and doping tests? Until technology caught up with her.

Dara Torres is just TOO buff and too old to be natural. It makes me uncomfortable to see somebody trying to claim a mantle that might not deserve (wanting to be a role model for defying aging - if really she's cheating).

I don't find her dysfunctional married life to be relevant, but I do question her ethics/honesty ...

[lesserof2evil]

apparently witch hunting is still alive and well among the idiots

[LosAngelesCA]

She's FORTY FIVE YEARS OLD and came in 4th at the trials.

How disappointing that she can not represent us one more time.

Thank you Dara for trying. You gave those girls competition even after surgery.

Thank you for representing our country so well.

[knucklecheese]

No, she didn't really give them much competition. It's long past time to hang it up. Gonna have to find something else to do.

[mari1963]

While she may be a so-so athlete, she is no role model for young women. She would have impressed me more if she would have married the father of her child instead of making excuses for her lifestyle.

Being alone and raising a child alone because you are a widow is one thing. But she dumped her boyfriend after telling the media she was engaged and getting married. I'm not impressed with her at all.

[NevInAz]

Because THAT is the most important thing here--that she didn't marry a guy. Just curious...but is that REALLY more important than whether or not she works hard and is a good person?

[jgnv]

Considering that neither you nor anyone else knows what lead this woman to ultimately decide to raise her child as a single parent, I applaud her olympic efforts and wish her continued success in her future endeavors.