When spring arrives, I always think about the swimming pools opening soon. For 10 years up through high school, I was a competitive swimmer in breaststroke. (I later learned my siblings and I each had to learn how to swim and play piano because my mom couldn’t do either.)
Both my daughters competed some in swimming and diving in high school but I hadn’t been following the sport much until I heard about a Colorado swimmer turning heads on the international scene. Her name is Missy Franklin. She’s a 15 year-old sophomore at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. In February, her school’s girls swim team won the state title in Class 5A (the biggest schools).
Franklin is an impressive student athlete. In the state meet, she won the 100-yard backstroke in a state record time of 52.3 seconds. This time was so good she broke a 13-year-old American record, eclipsing the old mark by more than half a second. Franklin has a 3.95 GPA. Not only does she swim with her high school team, but she competes with elite swimmers in USA Swimming’s Grand Prix Series, where she leads all the swimmers in points – including Michael Phelps – and also leads with 14 gold medals.
We’ll be hearing a lot about Missy Franklin in the future. She’s heading to Shanghai this summer as a member of the U.S. national team to compete in the FINA World Championships. In 2012, expect to see her in London at the Olympic Games helping the U.S. team challenge the world’s best. I know I’ll be watching.
