Omaha: Dara Torres lingered in the water after the other swimmers had rose out of the pool. Her long career was finally over. She wanted to soak up the moment as long as possible.

The 45-year-old Torres came up short in her bid to make it to the Olympics for a 6th time. She finished 4th in the final of the 50-metre freestyle Monday night, her only occurrence at the U.S. swimming tests.

“This is really over,” Torres said. “That`s it, I`m going to enjoy some time with my daughter, have a nice summer and cheer on the U.S. team.”

After winning 3 silver medals at the Beijing Olympics, Torres underwent radical knee surgery and put all her expectation into a chaotic dash from one end of the pool to the other. But Jessica Hardy won in 24.50 seconds, while Kara Lynn Joyce took the other Olympic spot in 24.73.

“Obviously I was hoping to make the team,” Torres said. “That was my goal and missing it by less than a tenth of a second is tough, but I don`t think there`s anything I could have changed.”

Torres was denied a trip to London by nine-hundredths of a second, touching behind third-place Christine Magnuson (24.78). Torres smiled when she saw her time (24.82) and hugged both Hardy and Joyce. When Torres finally got out, she began motioning for her daughter, 6-year-old Tessa, to join her.

Torres walked into the stands, still dripping wet, and scooped up Tessa, who was wearing a green shirt that said “Go Mom.”

“She`s bummed she`s not going to London now,” Torres said. “I told her I`d still take her.”