Missy Franklin
Missy Franklin was born in Pasadena, California, United States on May 10th, 1995 and is the Swimmer. At the age of 29, Missy Franklin biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 29 years old, Missy Franklin has this physical status:
Melissa Jeanette Franklin (born May 10, 1995) is an American former competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist.
She formerly held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course).
As a member of the U.S. national swim team, she also held the world records in the 4×100-meter medley relay (short course and long course).In her Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics at age 17, Franklin won a total of five medals, four of which were gold.
She swept the women's backstroke events, winning gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke.
Franklin's successes have earned her Swimming World's World Swimmer of the Year and the American Swimmer of the Year award in 2012 as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2011 and 2012.
In total, she has won twenty-seven medals in international competition: sixteen gold, six silver, and five bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, the short course World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships.
Franklin's eleven gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships was a record in women's swimming before Katie Ledecky broke it in 2017. Franklin holds dual American and Canadian citizenship, and chose to compete for the U.S. national swim team.
In December 2018, she announced her retirement from the sport.
Early life
Franklin was born in Pasadena, California, the only child of Dick and D. A. Franklin. When she was a baby, her mother was very worried about water safety, so Franklin started swimming purely because her parents wanted her to get comfortable with the water. She grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and began taking swim classes there at the age of five, at the urging of her mother. She attended Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado, and graduated in 2013.
Both of Franklin's parents are Canadian and Franklin holds American and Canadian dual citizenship. Her father, Dick, was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. A former All-Canadian football player for Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he played briefly for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League as an offensive lineman. After an injury ended his football career, he returned to Halifax to pursue an MBA degree at Dalhousie University, where he met his future wife, a medical student. While working for 7-Up in Ontario, Dick was transferred to the United States. Ultimately the family settled in Denver, Colorado, where Dick had a senior position with Coors Brewing Company. Franklin's mother suggested that her daughter consider competing for Canada to ease the pressure of qualifying for the U.S. National Team due to the competitive depth of American swimmers. Franklin, however, chose to represent the United States, citing her patriotism for her homeland.
Franklin is 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) tall and has women's size 13 inch feet. "We call them built-in flippers," says her father. She has been coached by Todd Schmitz from the Colorado Stars club team since she was 7 years old.
During her rise to stardom surrounding the 2012 Olympics, Franklin continued to refuse prize money and endorsements so that she could maintain her amateur status to compete in college. In 2012, she accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where she began swimming for coach Teri McKeever's California Golden Bears women's swimming team during the 2013–14 academic year. At Cal, Franklin is a four-time individual NCAA champion: winning the 200-yard freestyle in 2014 and 2015, and the 200-yard backstroke and individual medley in 2015. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female swimmer in 2015, as well as the Honda Cup awarded to the nation's top female athlete. After the 2015 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, in which Franklin won three individual NCAA titles, Franklin turned professional, thus ending her NCAA career. After leaving Berkeley to train for the 2016 Olympics with her Colorado team, in January 2018 Franklin elected to begin training at the University of Georgia. She graduated with a degree in religion from the University of Georgia in December 2019.
Personal life
Franklin says her favorite athlete is Natalie Coughlin.
Franklin was raised Christian but did not attend church or identify as religious until reading the Bible and taking theology classes in high school. As a Religion major at the University of Georgia, she took courses in several religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. She had already practiced yoga recreationally for three years, but learning about its Hindu roots in college made it a more spiritual experience for her. At the time of her retirement, her academic interest in Hinduism was misreported as her being an adherent; in an interview about her Christian faith, Franklin said her Hindu interests were "blown a little bit out of proportion."
Franklin got engaged to Hayes Johnson, who swam at the University of Texas, on September 22, 2018. The couple married on September 14, 2019. In March 2021 she and her husband announced they were expecting a child.
Swimming career
Franklin joined the Colorado Stars travel swim team at the age of seven. Missy's parents were surprised that it was not obvious until other family members brought it to their attention. Franklin began competing against girls who were much older than her at the age of 12. Franklin participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Omaha, Nebraska, but did not qualify to swim in any events. In the 100-meter freestyle, her best result was 37th overall. Missy had half the Colorado High School Activities Association's time records for high school swimming by the time she graduated from high school.
Franklin participated in six individual events and qualified to swim in the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships by finishing second in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. Franklin placed fourth in the 100-meter backstroke and did not qualify for the 50- and 200-meter backstrokes at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. Franklin received her first international medals of her career at the 2010 FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai. Franklin came in second place in the 200-meter backstroke, behind French swimmer Alexianne Castel. Franklin also received a silver medal in the 4100-meter relay for her participation in the heats. Franklin received the Breakout Performer of the Year Award at the seventh annual Golden Goggle Awards in 2010.
Franklin received a total of five medals, three gold, one silver, and one bronze in her first long course world championship meet at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai. Franklin won a silver medal with Natalie Coughlin, Jessica Hardy, and Dana Vollmer in a time of 3:34.47 in her first event, the 4100-meter freestyle relay relay. Franklin had a 52.99 split on the second leg, the second best among all participants. Franklin won her first individual medal, a bronze, in the 50-meter backstroke, placing second behind Russian Anastasia Zuyeva and Japanese Aya Terakawa. Franklin was gold medalist in the 4200-meter freestyle relay with Dagny Knutson, Katie Hoff, and Allison Schmitt, just shy of winning gold ahead of Australia and China in a time of 7:46.14. Franklin's lead-off time of 1:55.06 was quicker than the winning time of Italian Federica Pellegrini in the individual 200-meter freestyle final (1:55.58). Franklin, who set the national record in the 200-meter backstroke in the semi-finals (2:05.90), dominated the field in the finals with a time of 2:05.10, smashing her own national record and winning gold. This was Franklin's first individual world championship, and her appearance in the final was the third fastest effort of all time. Franklin took gold with Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, and Dana Vollmer shortly after the 200-meter backstroke final, winning gold in the 4100-meter medley relay, less than three seconds ahead of second-place finisher China. Franklin had a record breaking 52.79, the fastest in the field, during the freestyle leg. The medley relay's time of 3:52.36 was the second fastest effort of all time, just behind the Chinese-owned world record of 3:52.19. She received the Female Athlete of the Year, Female Race of the Year (200-meter backstroke), and the Relay Performance of the Year (100-meter relay) Award at the eighth annual Golden Goggle Awards for her efforts at these championships. By FINA Aquatics World Magazine, she was also voted the best female swimmer for 2011.
Franklin traveled to Palo Alto, California, three days after the 2011 World Aquatics Championships ended in Shanghai on July 30, 2010. Franklin participated in four individual events as well as the 4100er in the 100-meter backstroke and freestyle at these championships. In the 50-meter freestyle, she came in fourth and twelfth.
Franklin set the first world record of her career in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup in October, beating the previous record of 2:00.03 set by Shiho Sakai. Franklin became the first female to break an individual world record since the first female bodysuits were banned in January 2010. Franklin's second world record was set at the 2011 Duel in the Pool in December. Franklin partnered with Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, and Dana Vollmer to smash the previous American-owned world record by 3:47.97. Franklin had a split of 51.32 on the freestyle leg.
Franklin could be drug tested from six a.m. to eleven a.m. at night during the London Summer Olympic trials, and she was required to specify where she was at all times. She will be confined to one hour a day and in the case that she would come to a drug testing center, she must be present at that hour. Franklin began training for the London Olympics with Kara Lynn Joyce, a member of the Colorado stars swim team. Franklin became the first female to qualify for seven Olympic events in London's Olympic trials.
Franklin qualified to swim in four individual events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in four separate events. Franklin dominated the 100-meter backstroke in her first event, smashing Natalie Coughlin's American record of 58.94 seconds. Franklin finished second in her second event, the 200-meter freestyle, behind Allison Schmitt by over two seconds in a time of 1:56.79. Franklin came in second second in the 100-meter freestyle, behind Jessica Hardy in her third solo event. Her second-place finish came less than half an hour after competing in the 200-meter backstroke semi-finals, where she came in first overall in a time of 2:07.91. Franklin finished first in the 200-meter backstroke final, her fourth individual event, in a time of 2:06.12.
Franklin earned a bronze medal in the 4100-meter freestyle relay in London's first day of the 2012 Olympics with Jessica Hardy, Lia Neal, and Allison Schmitt, with the United States team finishing second behind Australia and the Netherlands. Franklin set a personal record of 53.52 seconds on the lead-off leg of 53.52 seconds, and the team set a new record of 3:34.24. Franklin's first leg of the relay was also the fastest lead-off of the field. Franklin took the gold medal in 58.33 seconds on her first individual effort of the swimming competition, beating her own national record. She won the backstroke less than 15 minutes after completing the 200-meter freestyle semi-finals, where she qualified for the final. Franklin took part in the 200-meter freestyle on the following day and finished fourth, just one one one-hundredth of a second behind third-place finisher Bronte Barratt. Franklin earned her third medal of the meet, a gold, in the 4200-meter freestyle relay with Dana Vollmer, Shannon Vreeland, and Allison Schmitt, a day after the 200-meter freestyle. Franklin set a time of 1:55.96 on the lead-off leg, and the US team reached a new American record in 7:42.92. Franklin took part in her third individual competition, 100-meter freestyle, the day after completing the relay. Franklin took fifth place in the final in a time of 53.64 seconds. Franklin was able to bounce back from that appearance, and in her fourth and final individual event of the Olympics, she took home a world record time of 2:04.06, bettering Kirsty Coventry's record of 2:04.81. Franklin also became the first American female to win the 200-meter backstroke since Melissa Belote did in 1972, forty years ago. Franklin earned gold with Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer, and Allison Schmitt in her last event, the 4100-meter relay relay. Franklin set a time of 58.50 seconds on the backstroke leg, and the US team went on to smash the world record of 3:52.05, beating the Chinese-owned record of 3:52.19 set in 2009.
Franklin was named the Year Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine at the end of the year. FINA Aquatics World Magazine named her as the best female swimmer for 2012 for a second time.
Franklin qualified to swim in five individual events at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in the United States. She came in first in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle and backstroke, and second in the 50-meter backstroke at the National Championships.
Franklin swam seven events in Barcelona, three individual and three relays, but she later relapsed from the 50-meter backstroke after the heats. Franklin also earned six gold medals at the World Championships, a new record for a female swimmer at a single edition of the World Championships. Despite being the first woman in history to win six gold medals at a single World Championships, Katie Ledecky missed out on the Award of Swimmer of the Meet to her colleague Katie Ledecky for her two world record-breaking performances and four gold medals.
Franklin lead-off the relay on the first day of the pool competition and her first event, the 4100-meter freestyle relay, in a time of 53.51. Natalie Coughlin and Shannon Vreeland, a lead-off Cate Campbell of Australia, came second, but the Australian team won the gold medal after a slew of seconds. It was a record-breaking run of 3:32.31, breaking the previous record of 3:34.24. Franklin captured gold in a time of 58.42, six-tenths of a second on her first individual event of the pool competition, ahead of Emily Seebohm of Australia. Franklin decided to scratch the 50-meter backstroke on the fourth day since it was right before the 200-meter freestyle. Franklin claimed gold in the 200-meter freestyle for her third time in a personal record time of 1:54.81, just 0.33 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Federica Pellegrini. Franklin took gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay on the fifth day of the season, as well as teammates Katie Ledecky, Shannon Vreeland, and Karlee Bispo. With a deficit of over a second, Franklin was able to track down Australian Alicia Coutts, a time of 1:54.27, and the team finished with a time of 7:45.14. Franklin finished fourth in the 100-meter freestyle on the sixth day and placed fourth in the final with a time of 53.47, just missing the medal podium. Franklin defended her title in the 200-meter backstroke, winning in a time of 2:04.76 and setting a new championship record. Franklin won gold in a time of 3:53.23 in her last event, the 4100-meter medley relay. Franklin set a time of 58.39 on the backstroke leg.
Franklin took the 100-meter backstroke in the third fastest American time ever at the 2014 U.S. National Championships, leading a clean sweep of the competition by Cal Berkeley swimmers. She also won the 200-meter backstroke and the 100-meter freestyle, and finished second in the 200-meter freestyle behind Katie Ledecky.
Despite being delayed by a back injury, Franklin swam in four individual events and three team relays at the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. She captured three gold, two silvers, and one bronze medal in total.
Franklin claimed her first individual medal in the 100-meter backstroke by finishing third in a time of 1:00.30. She came in fourth place in both the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter backstroke. Franklin failed to qualify for the A final in the 200-meter freestyle, but she earned the B final in the second fastest time among all participants, securing her spot on the American team for the 2015 World Championships in this sport.
Franklin defeated Shannon Vreeland, Leah Smith, and Katie Ledecky to win the 4200-meter freestyle relay. Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil, and Vreeland, Franklin placed second in the 4100 meters freestyle relay, and Jessica Hardy, Kendyl Stewart, and Manuel finished second, with teammates Jessica Hardy, Kendyl Stewart, and Manuel finish second in the 4100-meter relay.
Franklin participated in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke, the 100-meter freestyle, and four relay events at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia. She earned bronze medal and another bronze in the 200-meter freestyle relay as a member of the United States team in the 4100-meter freestyle relay, as well as another bronze medal in the 200-meter freestyle. In the 100-meter backstroke final, she came in fifth place. Franklin earned her first gold medal of the 2015 championships as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the women's 4200 meters freestyle relay. In the mixed 4100-meter freestyle relay, she also earned a silver medal and a gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke relay and gold.
Franklin swam in the second stop of the 2015 FINA World Cup on August 15 and 16. She competed in four events: 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter freestyle; 100- and 200-meter freestyle. In the first day of the races, she qualified for the finals in the 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter freestyle events, where she took bronze and silver, respectively. Franklin also earned silver in 100-meter freestyle and bronze in 100-meter backstroke on the second day of the tournament.
Franklin finished second in the 200 meters freestyle, 200 meters backstroke, and also qualified for the 4 x 200 meters freestyle team at the US Olympic Swimming Trials in 2016.
Franklin took 13th place in the 200m freestyle semifinals at 1:57.56, but did not make it to the finals. She finished 7th in the 200 meters backstroke for her heat in the semifinals, but not in the finals. Franklin also earned a gold medal in the 4 m freestyle relay for swimming in the heats at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
On December 19, 2018, Franklin announced her retirement from swimming. She is an ambassador for the United States Swimming Foundation and is assisting with the Saving Lives Is Always in Season national campaign.