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Swimmer Dara Torres is 41. Another 20 of this year's American athletes in Beijing are 40 or older. Topping the list is 58-year-old John Dane III, the president of a boutique yacht-building firm who'll represent the U.S. in Star-class sailboat racing. The shift in Olympian age range comes partly from better science and technology for sports training and injury recovery. But there's a money angle:

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Eight years ago, the U.S. Olympic Committee began paying athletes directly up to $36,000 a year, plus healthcare. An Olympian's career no longer ends when he or she graduates college and needs to get a job. (Photo of Dara Torres by AP/Mark J. Terrill, John Dane III by Fried Elliott)