By Michael Aronson

Dara Torres ’85 came within .09 seconds of becoming the first American to compete in six Olympic Games after finishing fourth in the 50-meter freestyle final at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday.

The top two swimmers in the final race advanced to the Summer Games in London, and Torres touched the wall in 24.82 seconds while the second place swimmer finished in 24.73 seconds.

“It’s disappointing but there’s nothing else I could have done,” Torres told a Washington Post reporter after the race. “I think I learned more about mental toughness than I had at any other time in my life. I was prepared either way.”

Torres has won 12 Olympic medals since her first Olympics as a junior at Westlake in 1984. Her most recent medal came in the previous Olympics in 2008 when she won three silver medals.

She has said this would be her final attempt to compete in the Olympics.