Dara Torres misses gold by 0.01 seconds

BEIJING -- California's Dara Torres won the silver medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle Sunday but lost the gold by only 0.01 seconds.

Germany's Britta Steffen took the gold by the slimmest of margins with an Olympic record time of 24.06 seconds. Cate Campbell of Australia won the bronze medal with a time of 24.17 seconds.

Kara Lynn Joyce, who was sixth in 24.63 seconds, on Torres:

"It's absolutely amazing that she's going that fast -- she's truly remarkable," Joyce said. "She gives me hope for another 20 years. She was actually talking about childbirth in the ready room."

And?

"She said it was painful," Joyce reported. "She said swimming was painful but nothing compared to that."

-- Lisa Dillman

Photo: Dara Torres after winning the silver. Credit: Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune