Dara Torres -- Go, mama, go!

Photo Credit: Associated PressLast week I dove into the New York Times Sunday Magazine (it takes me days to read the entire Sunday section) and was wowed by the story of Dara Torres. At that point in time, she was the 41-year-old mom vying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic swim team. She'd already broken three world records and retired from the sport. But she came back to try to make it to her fifth Olympic game appearance.

Over the weekend, Torres not only secured her Olympic berth, she managed to set two American records in the 50-meter freestyle (she even broke her own record, set the previous night).

And in a perfect moment of proud mommyhood, she brought her 2-year-old daughter, Tessa, with her to the awards stand.

Sure, she's a professional athlete with trainers and has a nanny to help watch her daughter. But her story still rocks (and I'm not the only one who thinks so). Here's a woman who came out of retirement after having a baby and at 41, will be the oldest female swimmer to compete in the Olympics. Ever. She even outpaced someone half her age. Go on, girl!

Most moms can't help but be inspired by Dara Torres. As a swimmer, I'm super excited to hit the pool and have zero excuses to not train. And as a mom, I'm proud to see another mom work her mojo and achieve something so awesome.

And while I'd love to know how Torres wrestles with all the regular issues we moms deal with, like mom guilt and spending enough time with her kid, I mostly just want to see her kick some ass at the Olympics in a few weeks.

Go Dara!