At 41 years old, swimmer Dara Torres is making a splash heading into the 2008 Beijing Games.

Referred to as "mom," by American swimming star Michael Phelps -- who was just 15 when he swam with Torres at the 2000 Sydney Games -- Torres made her Olympic debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Those Olympics were held the year before Phelps, 23, was even born.

She broke her first world record in 1982 at the age of 14 and won her first of nine Olympic medals at the 1984 Olympics.

"In some ways, I'm like all the other swimmers (at trials), because I still feel the passion for what I do," Torres said. "In some ways I'm like none of them, because I've lived their lives twice."

But Torres showed at the Olympic trials that her age hasn't slowed her down. En route to qualifying for her fifth Olympics, Torres set an American record in the 50m freestyle and recorded an unexpected victory in the 100m free.

Torres is faster at 41 than she was before, and that's after giving birth to her now 2-year-old daughter, Tessa, and undergoing surgeries on her shoulder and knee in the past eight months.

So what makes this American so fast? She says it's not performance-enhancing drugs.

In an age where many records have fallen due to steroid use, Torres said she expected people to doubt her success and took a proactive approach.

"I went to USADA and talked to the CEO there and said, 'Hey, people are talking about me. They can't believe I'm doing this. I'm an open book. DNA test me, blood test me, urine test me, do whatever you want. I want to show people I’m clean,'" Torres said on the "Today" show Monday.

Torres said she's frequently tested for steroid use and doesn't take offense when people ask her if she's using performance-enhancing drugs.

"I just take it as a compliment," Torres said on "Today."

While Torres' accomplishments at the Olympic trials were age-defying, she had adjusted her Beijing schedule to make sure her body holds up throughout the Games. On Monday, USA Swimming announced that Torres dropped the 100m free from her Olympic schedule, allowing her to focus on the 50m free.