Britta Steffen beats Dara Torres by 0.01 to win women's 50m Freestyle gold

Britta Steffen of Germany sealed the sought-after Freestyle sprint double as she took gold in the Women's 50m Freestyle in an Olympic record of 24.06 seconds at the National Aquatics Center today, adding to the 100m Freestyle gold she won on Friday.


(Photo credit: Ding Xu/Xinhua)

Britta Steffen, who qualified third fastest for the final in 24.43, was not the quickest off the blocks but recovered to overtake Dara Torres and finish first. Steffen touched the wall 0.01 second ahead of Dara Torres.

Dara Torres of the United States, the 41-year-old mother of one, was out to show her competitors that her age is no barrier in the splash and dash. She clocked the fastest time into the final and recorded the second fastest reaction time but could only manage the silver medal behind Steffen. Torres also set an Americas record of 24.07.


(Photo credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)

Sixteen-year-old Australian schoolgirl Cate Campbell, who was not born when Torres made her third Olympic team at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, clocked an encouraging 24.17 to finish with a bronze medal.


(Photo credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)

World record holder Lisbeth Trickett (Libby Lenton) of Australia had the quickest reaction time off the blocks but did not feature in the medals, finishing fourth in a time of 24.25.

Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands, another of the pre-race favorites, finished in fifth place at 24.26.