Torres out of 100

So you are saying that if you were there, you would swim both? Even though swimming the one could possibly take you out of the running for your best event? I don't think anyone here would do that....not the smartest thing to do in my opinion. Of course he would...to do otherwise would be so selfish. ;)

Again the 50 free final is the same session and they won't be able to wait until after the race to ask Dara how she's feeling to finalize the medley relay. If they ask her, she'll do the race... she's so competitive, i don't think she can't say no to the opportunity. someone needs to step in and make the decision for her and the team, and have this planned out ahead of time so all the swimmers can properly prepare for glory!

Can anyone think of another time a swimmer has qualified for an individual event at the Olympics and then not swum it? It's got to be pretty unusual.

Wow...John, I respect your opinion, but I gotta call you out on this one. I swam my one LCM meet (one day) this season a month ago. I entered 3 events. I swam the 200 BR first. Had about a 40 minute recovery to the 100 BR and it looked like a 30 minute break to my best and focus event, the 50 BR. Now at 49, I know my body and I only have so many good swims in me in a given day. My "medal" for this meet was to get a Top Ten. I do NOT like to scratch any events, but I reluctantly scratched the 100 (She will vouch my debate.) If I swim both the 100 and 50, I just wasn't going to swim well in either event in this small meet. My choice worked out well for me, but I hardly consider it selfish. Do you? I also noticed you scratched the 200 FR at 2006 Worlds and the 50 BA at SCY Nats in 2006. Of course you did swim other events in those meets... Selfish? Seems like a double standard to me... Mark Perhaps selfish? John Smith

I also noticed you scratched the 200 FR at 2006 Worlds and the 50 BA at SCY Nats in 2006. Of course you did swim other events in those meets... Selfish? Seems like a double standard to me... This is a really unfair comparison. John Smith, like all of us, is swimming purely for himself in masters swimming. Hopefully Dara doesn't think she's only swimming for herself at the Olympics.

Did Dara not discuss dropping the 100 free with the Head Coach of the Olympic Team (Schubert)? What if HE was the one that encouraged her to drop the event? We're assuming a lot here to say that it was entirely her own "selfish" decision, aren't we? Perhaps Schubert thinks this is the best move for the entire team.

What if HE was the one that encouraged her to drop the event? I can't imagine the head coach suggesting to a swimmer that they should drop an event they qualified in. Torres did mention Sunday night she would discuss the matter with Schubert. I really can't imagine he was the one to suggest it to begin with.

Garret Weber-Gale is swimming the same events. How would you feel if he did the same thing? Interesting. It does seem odd to have the fastest person in the US declining to swim the event. And she certainly didn't look or swim tired at trials, as Gull notes. But still, the "level of effort" is her choice. If she hadn't been to the Olympics 4x already, she might make a different choice. But, her main goal, making history, is already achieved.

Dunno about selfish, it just seems a tad wimpy to me...as much as one can say that about a 41-year-old AR-holder. This whole "I'm so old I can't see the scoreboard and I have aches and pains" thing is getting...old. Racers like to race. I don't care how old she is, she's not made of glass. She swims 25,000 a week, does other training, and has hired people full time whose sole purpose is to help her recover. She can handle a few races, it didn't seem to hurt her at Trials.

I really can't imagine he was the one to suggest it to begin with. I wasn't meaning to suggest he came up with the idea. I know she was talking about it on TV the night she won the event. She did say she was going to discuss the idea with Schubert before making any kind of decision. What if he thought it was a good idea? What if he thought it gave a better chance for relay medals or overall medals for the team? Just saying it's somewhat uninformed to assume it was all her own "selfish" decision with no regard to the rest of the team.