Torres, 40, captures her 15th U.S. title | Seattle Times Newspaper

INDIANAPOLIS - Dara Torres’ 15th national title felt no different than her first, 25 years earlier.

The oldest national champion in U.S. swimming history, Torres set an American record in the 50-meter freestyle Saturday night in her bid toward a possible fifth Olympics appearance.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” she said at the USA Swimming National Championships. “I can’t put words on it to describe how I felt when I touched that wall and saw my time.”

Competing in the pool in which she qualified for her first Olympics as a teenager in 1984, two years after her first national championship, the 40-year-old Torres came in at 24.53 seconds, a personal best that surpassed her American record of 24.63 set in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The world record, also set in Sydney, is 24.13 by Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands.

Torres won the 100 freestyle Wednesday, her first national title since she came out of retirement last summer after the birth of her first child.

“It feels exactly the same,” Torres said of the transition from a swimming wunderkind to the sport’s most senior citizen.

A former world-record holder at 50 meters, Torres beat Lara Jackson, who had a time of 25.27 in the final.

Torres said she felt no pressure getting back into competitive swimming.

“I just got in shape swimming with my daughter and I started swimming a couple of meets and I swam real fast,” said the 6-foot Torres, a Parkland, Fla., resident. “A lot of master swimmers were encouraging me to swim, so I just decided to get back into it.”

And she seems far from finished.

Her goal is to swim at the Beijing Games next year.

“I’m just going to take a couple weeks off and hopefully get back in training and start training for the Olympic trials,” she said.

Among other events on the final night of the five-day meet at the IU Natatorium, Katie Hoff, the world-record holder in the 400 individual medley, won the 200 IM for her third national title of the week, and Emily Brunemann, who was fourth in the 800 freestyle, beat her previous best time by eight seconds and won the women’s 1,500 for her first national title.

Ariana Kukors of Auburn placed seventh in the 200 IM.

Michael Phelps, who won two of his first four titles Friday night, passed up Saturday’s 200 IM but was part of the winning Club Wolverine team in the meet’s final event, the 400 medley relay. Phelps, Scott Spann, Davis Tarwater and Peter Vanderkaay won in 3:38.32.

“Probably not in the best training state right now, not in best physical shape we really want to be in,” Phelps said. “But all things considered, it was a pretty solid week.”

Ryan Lochte, the world-record holder in the 200 backstroke, won the 200 IM in 1:56.95. He won the 400 IM on Wednesday.

“The times I put up, I just raced tough,” Lochte said. “I’m happy with the overall meet.”