INDIANAPOLIS - Jenny Thompson and former Florida Gator Dara Torres flapped toward the finish line with almost perfect synchronization, two of America's greatest swimmers chasing another taste of Olympic glory.
Thompson reached the wall a split-second before Torres to win a stirring 100-meter breaststroke at the U.S. trials Thursday night. But Torres was a winner, too, becoming the first American swimmer to qualify for four Olympics.
"This is a pretty sweet victory," Thompson said. "There's a lot of pressure. People think this just comes to me, but it's not as easy as one might think."
Thompson, a five-time gold medalist, shook off memories of a poor performance at the 1996 trials to earn her third trip to the Olympics in 57.78 seconds. Torres, swimming right beside Thompson, was virtually stroke-for-stroke over the final 25 meters, falling just short in 57.86.
The 33-year-old Torres, who returned to swimming last year after a seven-year retirement spent dabbling in modeling and infomercial work, held a slight lead in the women's race at the turn. Thompson caught up on the return trip and barely touched first.
Both swimmers finished short of Torres' American record of 57.58, set a day earlier in the preliminaries.
