Torres sets U.S. record in 50m freestyle

Dara Torres, an ever-younger 41, set a U.S. record in the 50-meter freestyle today with a time of 24.25 seconds. Jessica Hardy of Long Beach was second in 24.82.

"I was hoping to go somewhat fast," Torres said. "Because there are girls in the world that are going 24.1's and 23.9. I have five more weeks to drop a couple of tenths to hopefully be in competition with those girls. So I'm very happy with my time. But I've got a lot of work to do."

Torres earlier won the 100 freestyle, putting her on the 400 freestyle relay and perhaps the 400 medley relay. She said she has not decided whether to swim the 100 freestyle at the Olympics. If she skips that individual race, Lacey Nymeyer would take her spot.

"I need to sit down with [U.S. coach] Mark Schubert and talk about the 100," Torres said. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that."

-- Lisa Dillman

Photo: Jessica Hardy, right, hands her stuffed dolphin to Dara Torres' daughter, Tessa, during the awards ceremony for the women's 50-meter freestyle. Torres won and Hardy placed second in the event. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press