Florida Gators
Florida State
Torres happy with morning race; even held a little back
Sunday, July 1, 2012 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Chris Harry
At 45, who can blame her?
“I have to conserve my energy,” Torres said after qualifying fifth with a time of 25.00 and advancing to Sunday night's semifinal heats. “I know it sounds silly and it's just one race, but as you guys who are older know, you just don't recover as quickly.”
Torres, more than two decades removed from her Florida All-American career and trying to make an American record sixth Olympic team, said she remembers often being referred to as a "middle-aged" at the Beijing Games in '08.
“And now I'm really middled aged,” she added.
But Torres knows her body and is such a veteran in the water she has a feel for finding the happy medium between going all out and doing what it takes to survive to swim another race. That was the objective Sunday morning.
Torres needs to clock one of the eight best times of tonight's two heats to advance to the finals of the 50 free, set for Monday night.
Her time Sunday morning was .55 off of 25-year-old Jessica Hardy's winning time of 24.55, but just .25 from Christi Magnuson (24.75) in second place.
“I'm not looking for time, I'm looking for place. It's all the place here, not the time, as you all know,” said Torres, whose goal for this meet is very simple. “In '08, it was about winning medals. Now, it's about making the team. ... My mindset and mentality have changed over the years. I appreciate it all so much more, and what it takes to be an elite athlete.”
