The Rise, Fall, and Reinvention of an Olympic Champion

Missy Franklin2:08

Yeah.

Missy Franklin2:36

And that's it, right? Like it's you can tell when the technique is there and when they've been doing it for a long time because they make it look so effortless and so easy. Like that's how I feel watching my husband bike or run cuz he's on a professional

Triathlon team now.

Missy Franklin2:51

Yeah. And so he does 70.3s.

Missy Franklin2:54

And say every time I watch him biking or running, I'm like he literally it looks like he's going easy and he's going 27 mph on the bike or he's running at like a 630 pace. And I'm like, "This is crazy."

Missy Franklin3:08

He's on Octagon Elite.

Missy Franklin3:10

Yeah. So, he swam he swam at the University of Texas.

Missy Franklin3:13

Amazing swimmer. Phenomenal.

Missy Franklin3:17

Absolutely not. So, phenomenal swimmer. And then he just has the mindset honestly, I think, very similar to yours where like he needs the challenge and he needs the next something. Yes.

And so, in 2023, he just decided he was going to do a half iron man and a full iron man and did phenomenal. loved it. Did a triathlon here in 2024 and was asked to to try out for this professional team and he got accepted. So we've been doing it for two years now and he's qualified for worlds. So he actually niece

Missy Franklin3:57

You're kidding.

Missy Franklin4:21

That's incredible. It's amazing. I mean, the events are unbelievable. Yeah. So, we're so excited. We're going to go for 10 days. We're taking the 17-month-old and the 5-year-old and

Oh my god. Just going to go watch daddy race.

Missy Franklin4:34

Every time.

Missy Franklin4:37

He is. So he's the first out of the water. He biking has come as easily to him as swimming. So he's phenomenal on the bike as well. It's the running which as we just talked about like going from swimming to running and he's still right in my mind. I'm like an unbelievable runner. But the runners at these 70.3s, I mean, the best of the best are holding like 530 pace at the at a half marathon after all this. So, he's I'm so proud of him. It has been so inspirational watching him and he has improved so much.

But that's that's his goal normally is first out of the water, do as whatever he possibly can on the bike, and then just hold on for dear life at the end.

Missy Franklin5:32

And I think that's what a lot of his teammates have been telling him. And that's why he's loved being on the team because like he is new at this. And so to have the experience and the advice from so many other people, he's just appreciate and we've always just been big team people. Like that's what we've loved the most about our sport throughout our whole lives is just being on a team and getting to do it with people you love and care about and suffer together.

Like there's no better feeling.

Missy Franklin5:57

I I don't I never say never. I never say never, but I'm working on my running right now. I've turned into a HYROX girly.

Missy Franklin6:07

So, that's kind of where my focus is now. I'm doing the doubles in Denver in November with my high school best friend. And then I'm doing the doubles here in Nashville with Hayes in December.

Team Zach, I'm so excited. We've never competed like together in anything. I cannot wait. But I am truly training so hard because I want to be able to keep up with him and be a good partner.

Missy Franklin6:35

Yes. That give me hard work any day. I'll take it.

Missy Franklin7:24

Hell yeah. Where'd you grow up? I grew up in Centennial, Colorado.

Missy Franklin7:35

I did absolutely everything. So my childhood was a little unconventional in that my parents actually had me via a surrogate.

Missy Franklin7:43

Much later in their life.

Missy Franklin7:45

My dad was 50 and my mom was 46 when I was born.

Later in life.

Missy Franklin7:49

That's so literally I truly but can you like that's like you literally having a 5-year-old right now. I mean that was and

I'm so thankful for our journey and how special that is. Now obviously comes with its own challenges being at the stage where I've got young kids and aging parents that have their own health issues. But I

Would not trade it for the world because when I was born

I was their sole focus. Like my dad had climbed the corporate ladder. He had done all of that. My mom had a like really steady foot in her career as a family doc. So

They were at everything.

Missy Franklin8:30

Exactly. And so my childhood was magical. I lived in the same neighborhood my whole life.

Missy Franklin8:36

So I just felt so blessed. Like when I look back it was truly just my mom, my dad, and me. We did everything together. We had the experiences of a lifetime. Always very athletic. So they put me in everything. And I really did love everything. There were very few things I did that I didn't like. But their only rule was you start a season, you commit to it, and if at the end of the season you don't like it, you don't want to do it again, you don't have to.

But we just don't quit

Halfway through.

Yes.

And that's the same thing we're going to do with both of our girls. But I did everything. And for quite some time, I loved swimming the most from the beginning. That was just what brought me the most joy. So, I did swimming, basketball, soccer, and volleyball up until I was around 9 or 10. And I'm always careful saying that because I'm like, my career started so young that I'm not saying by 10 years old, you need to decide. That's actually the last thing that I'm saying.

I was a very particular case in that I made my first Olympic trial cuts at 12 years old. So like that that was our reality that like that was already the stage I was at at 11 and 12 years old.

Missy Franklin9:46

But we believe so firmly in do everything that you can. It's so good for the kids to be diverse, to be doing different things. But for me, swimming was what I loved. It was what I wanted to be doing the most of. And so it was just a very natural progression for me to kind of around 10 just be solely focused on swimming because that was really all

Missy Franklin10:11

It really is. I was

Missy Franklin10:14

Oh, 100%.

Missy Franklin10:18

I made the cut and then 13 I was at Olympic trials and so that was for 2008 for Beijing.

Missy Franklin10:24

It was so surreal, Ken. Like I literally had posters of these people on my wall back home in my bedroom.

Missy Franklin10:33

Oh, no. It was amazing like because you're at Olympic trials like it doesn't matter whether you're 13 or 31 like you all have to make the same time cut to be there. So there's just this mutual respect of like

Missy Franklin10:48

No no never. I've never had an experience like that. I've been so fortunate. Everyone was so welcoming, so kind. I think especially at an event like Olympic trials though that is the most high pressure situation for our sport even more so than the Olympics.

I think so too. So, everyone's very much honed in on their own. Like, so there wasn't a lot of like, "Oh, there's this little kiddo." Everyone was just like, "Here's my job. Here's what I need to do."

And that was honestly kind of how I was, too. Like, I just looked at it. I knew I wasn't going to make the team.

So, really, my intention going into it was how much can I learn?

Missy Franklin11:20

You know, like that is one of the coolest things about our sport is when do you have a 13-year-old basketball player on the court with Caitlin Clark?

100%. You know, it's crazy. But we get that in our sport. You have the opportunity to go to these swim meets where the best in the world are swimming and competing there.

Missy Franklin11:40

So, I just remember watching like I just was I tried to be a sponge. I was watching warm-ups. I was watching cool downs. I was watching what they did before going into the finals ready room.

And I did great. I got best times in all my races. I had so much fun. It was in Omaha. I was swimming in front of like 10,000 people, which was I'd never done anything like that before, but it was the experience of a lifetime. And I remember leaving and we drove at that time cuz we were still living in Denver. And I looked at my parents from the back seat and I said, I know I didn't have a shot to make it this year, but 4 years from now, I'm going to be 17 and I want to come back and I want to have a shot at making that Olympic team because you see it.

You see the the reaction

And the faces when they touch the wall, when they're getting their medals, when they're announcing the Olympic team, and when you actually get to like tangibly see that in person,

It goes from being like a dream to I need to make this a reality.

Missy Franklin12:48

Yeah.

Missy Franklin12:54

Yep. That's it.

Missy Franklin14:44

They said, "Let us know what we can do to help."

Missy Franklin14:47

And that was very much their parenting style as well. I think they really had this understanding of

They're my dreams, so I'm responsible for them. Yeah.

You know, like they will do anything they need to do from a supporting standpoint,

But they never woke me up for a morning workout.

They never told me to go to a practice if I didn't want to go.

Missy Franklin15:09

Yep. it was my responsibility. Like this was my dream, my goal. And think they understood like they could come in, they could shake me awake, they could throw me in the car, they could take me to the pool, but they couldn't swim the laps for me. So what was the point in all of that if I wasn't actually going to try when I was there?

So they let me do all of that and I did it every day. I woke myself up, but I woke myself up knowing my mom was going to have breakfast ready for me. Yeah,

My dad was going to have dusted off the car outside and the car heating up. Like it was all those little things like I knew I had their full support and all I had to do was get up and go.

Missy Franklin15:49

School was amazing. So I went to public school my whole life and then for high school I went to an all girls private Catholic high school and they were so supportive and I'm so thankful for the time I had with them. It's called Regis Jesuit. It's in Aurora, Colorado. And we were on that journey together cuz I think they had never experienced having a student athlete,

Missy Franklin16:17

And this was all happening like my sophomore junior year of high school. I went to my first Olympics as a junior in high school.

And so they were incredibly adaptable and that made things so much easier. My junior year they allowed me to take two of my courses online.

Wow. And that made a huge difference in me being able to get to my double swim workouts, my weight training, my physical therapy, like everything that I needed to be doing. It would have been so hard if I was in the traditional school day

5 days a week. But that gave me 2 days a week where I had half days and so I would have a little bit more flexibility. So they really worked with us

To make sure I had everything I needed on that front too and that I was still getting obviously the full education that I needed.

Missy Franklin17:05

So I felt like I was on a very good trajectory. I had competed at world championships the year before in 2011.

Missy Franklin17:14

It went really, really well. And I think that was a huge confidence booster for me being like this was my first world and yet I've shown I'm up here like I'm capable not only of being here but competing for a place on the podium and getting medals here.

And Where did you finish at worlds in in so funny as soon as we're talking about that I'm like I'm trying to remember but I believe I won the 200 backstroke. I think I had

Missy Franklin17:44

[ __ ] I think so. Um my 200 freestyle was really good. I was on several relays that meet. So I think I got five medals that meet. You're going to have to fact check me. It's so funny how at the time right this is everything and then years later you're like how many medals did I win? I don't even remember.

Missy Franklin18:05

Think about the one thing you'll love this, of course, and like the 16-year-old that this is what I remember was

What the hotel would do after you won a medal is they would deliver like a brownie the size of your face to your hotel room like with the metal like a fondant metal on it with whatever color you want. And I just remember like that was my motivation. It was like if you get a medal, you're going to get a brownie. That's so awesome.

But it was a huge confidence booster of like, okay, like this was my first really I'd been at PM Pacific Championships the year before, but like really serious international competition and I've shown myself that I can be here and I can do this. So I think I had a lot of confidence going.

Missy Franklin18:48

I mean, the second you get an American flag cap with your name on it,

Like that's it. I mean, that's the moment. And I had been on, we have a national junior team. And so, that's a really cool essentially feeder team where you have younger teenagers that are traveling internationally representing the USA. And it's just the best way to like kind of light this fire of how cool this feels to be doing something like this. You get the box with all the clothes and the Team USA gear.

Missy Franklin19:26

I am too and it's it's really incredible. So, absolutely. I don't think it was ever lost on me how special it was and what a different meaning swimming took on when I had that cap on because it just became so much bigger than myself.

Missy Franklin19:45

12.

Yes. Yeah.

Missy Franklin19:49

So, I made the team in seven events.

Missy Franklin20:10

You know me. No, I

Missy Franklin20:23

Especially in Colorado and I think that's just cuz like I'm Colorado's girl you know and like they were home and I was all over the news there. So, like especially at home, like coming back and going to my senior year, like that year was probably the craziest. Like they did a massive homecoming parade. My school did a huge welcome home, but like there was so I mean amazing things like the entire state of Colorado just held me up and supported me. And so it was incredible.

So, yes. And there were so many moments of like, oh, I'm going to run into the grocery store and it's 8:00 a.m. and I'm still in my pajamas and then I've left and I've taken like 10 pictures with people and I'm like, I really have to STOP RIGHT IN MY PAJAMAS. LIKE, THIS DOES not work anymore. But it it was really it was surreal. And it is still surreal when it happens, especially now. It's so funny cuz I feel like I'm in such a different stage of my life.

So, when people do come up,

But it means the world to me. Like I ran into someone at the airport who just came up and was like, "Are you Missy Franklin?" And I was like, "Yeah." And she introduced herself and she just started crying.

Missy Franklin21:28

And she was like, "I can't even tell you. Like she's beautiful, tall, muscular." She was like, "You helped me so much. I was so insecure about my height when I was growing up. And like being able to watch you and hear you talk about it, like you truly gave me confidence and made me feel more comfortable in my body." And then I was crying. And then we're both, you know, just two strangers standing in the airport crying. But those are the moments that almost mean more now, you know, like having that.

But

London was crazy. So I qualified in the 100200 freestyle and backstroke and that also qualified me to do all three relays, okay, which I was stoked about because relays are my favorite. So, there was definitely a little hesitation about, okay, not only is this my first Olympics, but I'm now going to compete in

Seven events. Um, and at the time, I believe our lineup was seven days long. So, it was 14 sessions. And out of the 14 sessions, I wasn't swimming in two of them. It's

Missy Franklin22:31

So, it was like, okay, this is but this is what I've been training for, right? Like this isn't a go in swim at one event and then you're done. It's like this is this is endurance. Like I know the races are only a couple minutes, but you are giving your all.

Missy Franklin22:44

Multiple times a day for several days in a row.

Missy Franklin23:09

Gold medal and then you're supposed to go home and sleep because you have another race the next morning.

Like, in what world is that going to happen? It's so true. And it's just like, you know, the major events that you've done like when there's all this excitement and you know, it is this like pinnacle moment for you. Everything is elevated.

Yeah. So, I was definitely a little nervous about that, but just had so much support from my coach at the time, the coaches on the team, my teammates that were so helpful, and just like, "Hey, you've done this before. You can do it again. At the end of the day, it's just another swim meet." Yeah.

So, take one session at a time. Like, literally one session at a time. Do what you need to do. And I think that's where being routine oriented is so helpful because essentially, you just have to carry out the routine.

Missy Franklin23:57

I would do super plain oatmeal with a little bit of peanut butter and a banana. And then I would do some honey sticks closer to race time

Missy Franklin24:08

And that was it. Yep. I needed something simple. Especially at events like the Olympics when you are international, things are different. Like you don't know what food they're going to have. Like you're doing the best you can have. Thankfully London was amazing.

Missy Franklin24:23

Incredible. I I could not have had a better experience, I think.

Yeah. Well, actually, no, I wasn't. No, I had a boyfriend back home at 17. I did. So cute. Sweetest thing in the world.

Missy Franklin24:38

I mean, so boring. So boring. Also, I didn't have any time anyway. [gasps]

It was beautiful. I mean, it was just I'll tell you this story because I feel like you would really appreciate it. One of my favorite moments from London is we were all sitting in the dining hall and it was lunchtime. We were just eating and all of a sudden everyone stood up and just started clapping. We didn't really know what was going on but we started to do it too cuz we're like obviously something's happening. So we stood up and started clapping and then we had realized that Usain Bolt had just walked into the cafeteria.

Missy Franklin25:12

And every athlete stood up and gave him a standing ovation. And it was just one of those like sporting moments, right, where you're like, every athlete here is so incredible in their own right.

And yet the mutual respect and understanding we have for one another and like what it took to get here and just like excellence recognizing excellence.

It just I still get goosebumps when I think about it because it was just like that is the Olympics. This is the power of sport and how amazing it is like this level of inspiration.

Missy Franklin25:46

Compliment.

Missy Franklin26:07

"Thank you.

Missy Franklin26:13

Yeah. You know, it's I think when you're [clears throat] younger and that makes you stand out, that's when it's the hardest middle school cuz I mean I've been 6 feet since I was 13.

Missy Franklin26:23

Ask me how many boys in my grade were 6 feet at 13,

Right? Like

So I definitely think like it is something and then but that was one of the millions of things that sport helped me with is like I've also had a size 12 foot since I was 13. So, I wasn't wearing the same clothes. I wasn't wearing the same shoes as my girlfriends because I literally couldn't fit into them.

And at the time, that's kind of something that makes you feel bad about yourself until you realize like, yeah, okay, I can't do that,

But look at what I can do.

Missy Franklin26:56

You know, like look at how this helps me with my technique, with my swimming, with my sport. Think about how many people I've touched out because I'm 6 in taller. you know, like it's just these little moments and then I especially as I've gotten older now I love it and I appreciate it and I value it so much. But I think it's just normal to go through that phase when you're right growing into it and you're like anything that makes you feel different can be hard.

Missy Franklin27:27

Bust size and they're like they're super uncomfortable. You're like no no no you're going to be happy like you're going to grow into this trust me. But it's just like so much happening at one time and it's just awkward enough to begin with.

Missy Franklin28:03

This?" What you were wearing?

Missy Franklin28:30

I mean, I know we are thankfully in uniforms right now and we're we're only five, but I'm hoping to stay on that train as long as humanly possible.

Missy Franklin28:51

Oh gosh, no. Neither do I. I mean, I'm listening to Danny Go and Miss Rachel right now. So, I have no idea what's relevant.

Missy Franklin29:09

You're like, "What is happening right now?"

Missy Franklin29:24

Absolutely not. It's the worst part of the concert is the traffic after trying to get out.

Missy Franklin29:35

I don't think I knew that.

Missy Franklin29:47

That'll be a special experience for you and mom.

Missy Franklin30:23

Okay."

Missy Franklin30:34

How sweet of her to just be like, "Okay, this is what we're doing."

Missy Franklin30:40

I can't wait for memories like that.

Missy Franklin30:45

Oh, yeah. That's I just went to the Hillary Duff concert with my cousin, who's pretty much my sister, and we planned our outfits for like two weeks.

Missy Franklin30:58

They were a dream.

Missy Franklin31:00

I almost I mean, it was,

You know, it felt like I won everything. And I say that by like it really was the best Olympic experience anyone could have ever asked for. Like I was so proud of how I competed. I was having the time of my life. Like you can just see it when you go back and look at videos of me swimming in 2012.

Missy Franklin31:28

Every so many people thought it was like a like a show and that I was faking it. And then the ones that truly know me were like no no no. like she's actually that happy.

Missy Franklin31:39

They're like, "This is really who she is." And that was just how those days felt for me. I mean, so I walked away. I got four gold medals and a bronze. And the 200 back was like just still to this day my favorite race of my whole career. I broke the world record. It was just

Missy Franklin32:00

Current world record holder was in the heat with me. So like I got to do it with her there and then like hug her after. Like it was just so

Beautiful and power. It could have gone as well as I could have possibly hoped for. I got a tweet from Justin Bieber.

Missy Franklin32:17

I know. And Taylor Swift.

Missy Franklin32:19

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it was

Missy Franklin32:23

A week? I did not. Unfortunately.

Missy Franklin32:34

It was just

Missy Franklin32:38

So, have you ever seen Mean Girls? Have you watched that? Okay, so there's this moment at the end where I don't want to spoil it, but at this point, honestly, if you haven't se Mean Girls, it's your own fault.

Um, where she takes the prom queen crown and she breaks it and she like throws it to the other girls in the audience, the other women. And that was literally what I felt like I wanted to do with my medal because it's such a weird moment because you're standing up there alone by yourself and you're listening to your national anthem being played, but all I could think about was my mom and my dad. Yeah.

And my coach and my teammates and like there is just such an army of people that get you to that moment. So standing there alone just feels very weird because you're like, I just wish I could share this exact moment with them because there's no way it would have happened without them.

But I did get to see my parents that night for the first time in like a couple of weeks cuz we had done training camps before leading up to it and the village security is very strict and so I hadn't seen them. But NBC worked out a way for me to actually get to like see my parents and hug them and like show them the medal because the medal that you get on the podium is like yours. Like you get to keep that and take that back.

And that was when it really like I almost cherish that moment like just as much as the podium moment cuz actually getting to like put it in their hands and to them see it and just like being held by them,

It just sort of grounded me and centered me again and like who I am and how loved I am and that they were just so proud of me for going out there and having fun and doing my best.

Missy Franklin34:13

Oh my gosh. Yeah, they were I mean watching my parents' reactions was by and far my favorite part of the Olympic Games because NBC has like a little monitor when you go over to their kind of little cubicle where they're waiting to do post- race interviews and you can see I saw my parents and their reaction when I won and that was when I started crying cuz again like that's the moment of

We did it not not I did it but we did it. So, they were so emotional. They were so proud. And then it was just like a whirlwind from there.

Missy Franklin35:54

Forget it. Forget it. I mean, she does anything. I I just posted this video. My youngest, who is 17 months, just had her first swim lesson.

Missy Franklin36:03

2 days ago. and totally normal. They put her in the water and she just starts screaming. I mean, she's great when she's with me. Loves being in the water, but it's a new environment. It's a new person. And my eldest, who just turned five, went back out and got in the water with her.

Missy Franklin36:22

And was just holding her. And my 17-month-old was sitting in my 5-year-old's arms

And she was just playing with her and giving her kisses and like helping her like give high fives to the instructor. And I literally started crying because I was just like

Th this is motherhood and like this is my dream now. Like watching my daughters have this connection and this bond like and right they're not even they didn't even win anything. It's just them like sharing this moment that I was like, "Oh my gosh, I'm going to be a wreck no matter what they decide to do in life. Any anything that they decide to do, I'm just going to be crying in the front row the whole time."

Missy Franklin37:05

It's the best feeling ever.

Missy Franklin37:17

I know. I'm buckling myself for that because I know it's going to be But I I feel like you and I are very fortunate to have had the experiences we've had and to be able to talk about that. That's right. you know, and we'll be able to sit with them after the fails and the mistakes and the losses and kind of explain like, well, here's when that happened to me.

Missy Franklin37:35

You know, and here's what I learned and here's how I handled it and it's really hard and it's a bad feeling right now and it doesn't feel good,

But there's a lot you're going to be able to do with this.

Missy Franklin37:43

You know, and so I think that's going to be special being able to use the life experience that I've had kind of in those moments to help them as much as I can. But we talk about it all the time. Like I feel like we live in a generation where we're teaching our kids not to fail.

Missy Franklin37:59

As opposed to just teaching them how to fail.

Missy Franklin38:06

Yeah. Exactly.

Missy Franklin38:11

No. He just posted he went he did a track workout this week and he was like utterly failed it. Like it he was like [clears throat] it was awful. But it's just like I want them to know like the goal is not to be perfect. The goal is not to not fail. The goal is to fail. And then what do you learn from it? How do you move forward? And that's what's going to make you the best version of yourself. Not only in your sport, but out of it as well.

Because again, as we know,

The the lessons you learn in sport, I think, are just pure reflection of what you're going to go through in the the quote unquote real world.

Missy Franklin39:04

Exactly.

Missy Franklin39:07

Consistency. Yeah. And you can't beat yourself up on the bad days and you got to stay humble on the good days, you know, and it's just

It's putting money in the bank over a long period of time. Like you look at a sport like swimming and I mean our big event is every four I know

Years. Like can you imagine if we harbored on bad practices

For four like I mean that's a long time. So, it's just yeah, it's so much about consistency, but when things come together like they do in London, it's like that magical feeling of

Literally there's nothing to describe when everything falls into place at exactly the right moment.

Missy Franklin39:47

So, [sighs] I decided to remain amateur because at the time name, image, likeness was not a thing

Missy Franklin39:52

And I wanted to compete in college. So, I couldn't accept anything.

Missy Franklin40:03

You know, it was in the fact that I recognized that it was money like it it was life-changing money, you know, so it's always hard to say no to that. And I had a lot of hard conversations with my parents of

They never made any decisions for me, but they wanted to make sure I had every bit of information I needed to have to make the right decision and then they were going to support me no matter what. So, it was a hard decision. It was also my first time experiencing like feedback from outsiders on decisions about my own life, which at any age is hard, let alone 17 being like, "Wait a second, you know, why are these people,

You know, saying these things and disagreeing and telling us that we're being ridiculous and that we're making the wrong decision." But for as long as I could remember, like I went back my senior year and swam high school.

Missy Franklin40:52

Yes. Like I wasn't

Missy Franklin40:54

I talked to my team about it, you know, because I was like I swam the three years previous with my swim team. I love swimming on my high school team and this was going to be my last year to swim with these girls on this team.

Missy Franklin41:11

And so I talked to them because that was a fear. I was like I don't want to take anything away from their experience. And

All my teammates and coaches said the same thing. You know, you've been with us for 3 years. Like of course we how would you not do it yourself?

Missy Franklin41:25

I mean, it was so special. It was

Missy Franklin41:28

They were packed.

Missy Franklin41:32

They were packed. It was so fun. And that was like to me, college swimming was high school, you know, just even bigger. Like I it's hard to say better because high school swimming was so special, but on an on an even more intense level where like now you're all going to school, you're on a university campus, you're living together. Like

Missy Franklin41:56

Berkeley.

Missy Franklin41:58

Yep. So I went to Berkeley. But I went into college with the understanding and I told all my coaches this that I was only going to swim collegiately for 2 years and then turn professional going into my second Olympic games because I knew that I couldn't go to Olympics without accepting any money because this was also a career course and something that I wanted to make a future out of and so everyone was very understanding about that. But I was the

Missy Franklin42:22

Uh no that was in 2008. My second one was in Rio.

Oh that's right in 2016. Okay. So, I swam two years collegiately. We won the NC2A championship my second year.

Missy Franklin42:32

Uh, I had like another race of my life. It's actually one of my only records still standing at that NC2A. I broke the American record in the women's 200 meter freestyle.

Missy Franklin42:44

Um, or 200 short course freestyle, excuse me, yard freestyle. And I was the first person to break 140 and I went a 1391.

Missy Franklin42:52

So, I broke it by almost a second. And Ken, when I tell you I'm not a like celebrator after a race,

I celebrated like I think I literally did like the big up and fists like down in the water like so excited. It's going to get broken next year at NC2A. I'm sure of it. Um swimming is just getting so fast. But it it was amazing.

Missy Franklin43:14

No. So those kind of I believe those were made illegal after 2009.

Missy Franklin43:20

Yeah. So, it was actually kind of right as I was coming up in the sport. Like I wore them maybe in a couple competitions, but I was still like

Missy Franklin43:28

I think like 14.

Missy Franklin43:32

Yes. Yeah.

And so that was amazing. Turned professional. And I think this is where I don't want to say things started to go wrong, but I just think so much started happening to me that I wasn't anticipating or expecting. such as

So I did my two years collegiately and then I made the decision to go back home and train with the coach that I had been competing with all my life from age 7 to 17 who took me to my first Olympics. So I was back home

Living with my parents and I think my intention there was

I needed to hone in and just fully focus and do everything I could because now

I was known. I wasn't going into this Olympics as a little naive. No. Like, so not only was I going in there with expectations from the general public,

But now I was also a professional athlete, I was accepting endorsement deals. So I had deals with United and Visa and Coca-Cola

And like these iconic brands. And I'm like, I cannot let them down.

Missy Franklin44:37

It changes everything. And I wasn't [snorts] ready for that because swimming had just been this fun, amazing thing my whole life. And now all of a sudden it was like, "Oh my gosh, I have to perform well." And so that whole year I think really rocked me. I was training better than I had ever trained in my life, but I think there were so many underlying mental issues that it didn't matter what physical shape or performance I was in. like I wasn't addressing the issues of the pressure and the expectations and being away from my teammates and doing it on my own and it was like I was just trying to make the best decision I could for myself and my career and

It was a really hard year. It was a really really hard year

In 16. Yeah.

Missy Franklin45:30

So I get to Olympic trials in 2016. Um, first event hunter backstroke. I'm the reigning Olympic champion and I don't make the team.

Missy Franklin45:38

In the event.

Missy Franklin45:40

Seventh. Um. Wow.

And I went back to the hotel room that night and just sobbed for like 3 hours. And my faith is my foundation. And I just remember praying, praying, praying. And I literally felt God say to me like, "I will love you just as much. like if you pack up and go home right now, but how will you look back and feel about that?

Missy Franklin46:04

And he was like, I know you. I know your heart. He was like, you have two choices. You can do that. Like, you will still be loved if you decide this is it. This is the end. But you [snorts] can also choose to keep fighting. And you may fail again. That's a very real possibility. But at the end of the day, at least you know that you essentially died trying. Yeah,

You know that you fought and that you failed like not just going down without a fight.

So truly by like the grace of God and will um over the next few days I made the Olympic team in the 200 freestyle and the 200 backstroke.

So that also qualified me to be on the 4x200 freestyle relay. So I made my second Olympic team in three events.

Yep.

I got second in both the 200 backstroke and the 200 freestyle to make the team. And I think at that point it was just like, okay, it's not going to go the way I want it to go.

Missy Franklin46:58

And knowing that with domestic training camp, international training camp, and the Olympics still coming up,

Ken, when I tell you that is like the heaviest stone in your gut when you're just having to keep going through the motions just knowing like it's off. like it's not going to I'm doing everything that I possibly can, but I just know in my heart like it's not going to fall into place the way that it did.

It was so hard. So, I was doing everything I could every day literally just to keep my head above water.

And the Olympics themselves were the hardest eight days of my life. I mean, I didn't make a single individual final.

I swam on the prelims relay of the 4x200 freestyle relay and that was how I got my gold medal from Rio because our finals relay won gold that night. And so the preliminary swimmers also get that medal.

Missy Franklin47:48

So instead of getting my medal on a podium with the national anthem playing, I got it in a team meeting the next day.

Missy Franklin47:58

And I truly I went back and I pulled out my Bible and I sat there with my gold medal. And I mean just again like just this crazy mix of joy and gratitude, but also heartbreak and disappointment. And I had to go through so much media after every single race where every single person was asking me, "What's wrong with you?"

Missy Franklin48:20

Like, "What's going on?" I kid you not, the question, "Where's the real Missy Franklin?"

Missy Franklin48:26

And I mean, I'm sitting here at 21 years old, like having just poured my life into this for my whole life, but I mean, for 4 years,

It was heartshattering. I mean, there's no way to describe it. And so again, I realized I was, you know, faced with the decision of you can sulk and you can be sad or you can keep your head high and be the person you've said that you always want to be when things aren't going your way. Like up until this point, it's easy to be a good sport when you're winning.

Missy Franklin48:55

You know, but is it as easy to be as good of a sport when you're failing and when you're not and everything is going not according to plan? And so I just did the best that I could to continue to be a good teammate, show up for my team because they were having the meat of their life. I mean, so many of my teammates were swimming out of this world exceptional. And I was so excited for that.

And also to just be that example of don't sit here with excuses. Don't come up with something. Just say I'm doing my best and my best isn't good enough right now.

And [clears throat] that's all there is to it.

And I came home totally lost, having no idea what was next. uh just feeling like I'd let so many people down and all the kids in the neighborhood had come together and they had cut out construction paper hearts and written notes to me and staked them all over the yard of our house.

Missy Franklin49:44

And the one that I remember the most was we're just as proud of you now as we were four years ago because of how you handled yourself. And it was just such an aha moment for me that like again it's really easy to be an inspiration in success but it's also possible to be an inspiration in disappointment. Yep.

And possibly even more profound

You know like we don't have a lot of examples of how do we fail gracefully.

Missy Franklin50:11

And so the fact that I was able to do that you know again at the moment awful miserable. I couldn't understand the why. I couldn't see past it. I didn't understand the reasoning. But sitting here now, I just have so much pride in how I was able to handle that at 21 years old, being so disappointed and knowing I'm able to take that strength of character with me for whatever I do for the rest of my life.

Missy Franklin50:39

I went back to school. Uh, I started training with the men's team out at Cal. Um, and then I ended up I did get injured um about 4 months prior to Olympic trials for Rio. So that was another huge piece of the puzzle that I couldn't even talk about because I couldn't let my competitors know that I was

Injured. So I had bilateral shoulder surgery in January and February of 2017

And then I battled for about 18 months to try and get back and it just it couldn't couldn't happen. I did everything I possibly could and moved to Georgia, started training at the University of Georgia, ended up getting my degree there,

And just got to a point where I I couldn't get through half of a practice without severe pain, needing to get out. And that went on for so many months. And I tried international competition again. And I just knew like I could not compete at the level I wanted to compete at

With the training I was capable of doing. So had to make the again horrible decision to retire at 23 years old.

And I think retiring due to injury is ever I mean it's a lot of athletes worst nightmare, right? Like going out not on your own terms when your body is saying so but your heart and mind are still like no I want one more Olympics. I want two more Olympics. Like there was

So much more I wanted to do. I had so many more unfulfilled dreams in that sport. So to have to be done and hang it up was so hard. And then you have all the well what's next? I mean regardless of how or when you retire as an athlete, it's just such a scary time because it's this thing you've been doing your whole life. And it's not like it's a gradual

Like, okay, you're going to go from seven workouts a week to five and then it's like one day you just wake up and you're done. like this routine that you've literally had for two decades of your life

Missy Franklin52:42

So, I mean, God put so many pieces into my life to just help me get through that. I was dating my now husband at the time. Like, he reached out to me after Rio and really helped me get through that time. My agents at WME were incredible and they really helped me understand like you have built this platform and like we will continue to grow it like even if you're not swimming if this is what you want like

Missy Franklin53:07

It was incredible. My parents obviously were by my side every single step of the way. So there was definitely a transition, but at the same time I was getting engaged and planning a wedding and getting involved with things that now I had the time

And the opportunity to do which while you're swimming you that's your priority, right? Is training and competing. So it opens a lot of doors, but you can't walk through a lot of them because

You have to be focused on what it is you're doing. So all of a sudden it was like, oh,

It did open all these doors and now I can actually go and see

What is next. What am I passionate about? what do I want to do now? And it turned into a really beautiful time in my life.

Missy Franklin53:49

He studied Oh my gosh. You're in a I believe government and sociology.

Missy Franklin53:56

Do you? Yeah. I'm going to be I'm going to be really proud of myself if I got that right. Because we joke all the time about like he hasn't used that.

Missy Franklin54:03

I mean, once

Missy Franklin54:10

Exactly. 100%. But he actually worked for Lance Armstrong right out of college. Yeah. And he was there when everything happened.

Missy Franklin54:20

So that was like a huge um

Missy Franklin54:24

Have you? Yeah. It was he was like an intern when that happened. So he was one of the first people to get let go.

Um and then he was going to go to law school and decided to go this other route. He actually started a business with one of my teammates from the 2012 Olympics.

Missy Franklin54:39

Uh so it's called Swimmingly. So it's an app software company um that's like a swim meet manager timing system everything. They've totally digitalized it into an app. So he's still in the swimming space which is awesome

And loves it and gives him um plenty of flexibility cuz he's one of those

One of those special dads and husbands that truly does prioritize his family above everything else. But he works so hard at what he does. but loves it and it's a great way to give back to the sport. Um, and he taught himself coding and we are actually just launching our own app which we're so excited about for swimming. It's called Gold.

And it's a goal setting system and app for coaches, teams, and athletes.

Missy Franklin55:23

Just G O A L D.

Missy Franklin55:27

Gold.

Yeah. So that's been so fun because we go and we talk to teams all the time and young swimmers and athletes and we talk about the importance of goal setting, but it's like, okay, what do you do? You write down your goals, maybe put them on a sticky note or put them in a journal somewhere, but like how are you tangibly tracking that process?

Yeah. No, that's cool. you know, and so we've kind of he's brilliant and he built this whole app and platform as a way to like help young athletes understand like, okay, set these goals,

But here's how we get there. Yeah. You know, like it's not just about setting the goal and then showing up mindlessly to practice every day. It's what are you doing at this practice to get you closer to that goal that's getting you closer to that goal.

So, we're really stoked about that. Um, so that's going to be really fun to get to do together. And but yeah, I absolutely nothing to do with sociology and government. Well, I like your t-shirt. Everyone watches women's sports. I feel like women's sports are having like an alltime high right now.

It's so fun.

Missy Franklin56:27

Oh gosh, hit me.

Missy Franklin56:31

Oh, okay. I don't talk about this a whole lot.

Missy Franklin56:36

Well, I No, because I do want to be honest about it. I think inclusion is incredibly important. I do want there to be a space for everyone to compete and do what they love. Um, but I do think we need to protect women's sports

Missy Franklin56:50

And that we do need to be um thoughtful of how we can make it inclusive for everyone while also making sure all groups are protected at the same time.

Missy Franklin57:21

Yeah.

Missy Franklin57:23

And that's where I just think like we just need to keep having these conversations together because I think that's one of the most beautiful things about sport is it's an equalizer. You know, it's like you get up behind the blocks. It doesn't matter how much money you have.

Missy Franklin57:39

Where you grew up, how old you are, what color your skin is, who you love. Like, it's it's just it's it's beautiful. And that it just brings us all together. So, we need, I think, to just keep talking to each other about how do we make sure everyone feels involved and included and has the right to compete and do what they love while also keeping it protected and safe for everyone involved.

Missy Franklin58:20

Dang, that's

Missy Franklin58:26

Let's do this. Well, I mean, and that's the most amazing thing for me about sports and like the Olympics is the person with the gold medal may not actually be the best in the world.

Missy Franklin58:36

But they were the best in the world at that moment.

Missy Franklin59:00

Unreal.

Missy Franklin59:30

YES. YEAH, he is. Which, let me tell you, now that I am on my running journey, the amount of respect like I have a 15 mile run tomorrow and my coach wants me to do it in 2 hours and 20 minutes. So, I'm like, I cannot even fathom doing an extra 9 miles in that time. It's amazing. It's so impressive, Ken.

Missy Franklin59:59

Well, I You want to know the worst part? I have to do it on a treadmill.

Missy Franklin1:00:04

I know. Because Hayes has his bike. He's got a race simulation tomorrow, so he's got his bike and run. So, I have to be at home with the girls. So, I'm waking up at 4 to run 4 to 6:30 and get my 15 miles in before they wake up.

Missy Franklin1:00:29

And just kind of like settle in. And I think that's where I'm enjoying the challenge of running is I never

Thought that I would like it like truly because it does feel so hard for me. And

Sports I'm I'm very athletic. Like sports have come very easy to me no matter what I'm doing which is honestly a little different for swimmers. Sometimes we have that reputation of like well nothing on land really works so just got in the pool. But I do have some coordination. But that's been the coolest part for me on this running journey is as I've really challenged and pushed myself, there have been moments where I'm like, I can't believe I'm actually kind of liking this right now.

Like this this is fun. Like I'm enjoying it. Like again, those kind of runner's high moments where you're like really settled in and your heart rate's calm and your body feels good and you're just kind of moving. I'm like, this is cool. That's funny because I posted something on Instagram recently where I said like the guy who's recording me asked me like is running fun for you? I said no. I said if it's fun I will run faster

Missy Franklin1:01:34

And then that's where I know I'm at the right stage.

Missy Franklin1:02:07

Yes.

Missy Franklin1:02:10

But you're like, and sometimes those are the ones that like you get the biggest high because you're like, "Wow." Again, it's not easy, but like it's nice when the runs feel good and you get them done and you're like, "Okay, awesome." But when they're hard and you're fighting for every step, every mile, and you finish and you're kind of like, "Wow, it would have been really easy for me to just stop and I didn't."

Missy Franklin1:02:33

Like, those are cool.

Missy Franklin1:02:53

I think especially like for moms like I think that's so important and why I post so much of what I'm doing is it's like it doesn't have anything to do with me being an Olympian. Yep. or my career as an athlete. But here I am having gone through two pregnancies, two postpartums, and ironically, I was an Olympian at one point. Well, I am an Olympian. I was competing at the Olympic level at one point in my life. And I feel right now like I'm the strongest I've ever been.

Missy Franklin1:03:19

Yes. And I just want every mom to know cuz there's those moments like truly, especially in those first few weeks postpartum where you just feel so far away from you and that version of yourself and you really are questioning like am I ever going to get back there. So if I can just be that voice to be like not only will you get back there but like you can exceed like any expectations you have for yourself and that's if you want to you know like I definitely don't believe in having to get back because after you have kids there's no going back there's only going forward like you are forever changed

But I think just to encourage women that like if this is something you want and if you want to be that strongest version of yourself like You can do it. You can get that.

Missy Franklin1:04:15

I mean, the the mom strength is just such a real thing. It's been so cool for me to sit here again as a mom of two little for them to see me out every single day for me to be doing these new challenges and taking on these new things and just being like I I never would have imagined that this would be how I was feeling, you know, a year and a half after having my my last baby. So, it's been really special.

Missy Franklin1:04:46

Yep. So,

Missy Franklin1:05:07

Well, it is. And like sometimes I think again having the kids knowing they're watching you have these moments of you know you don't even realize just how much they're listening and watching to you and then you will have that like the other day we were in the backyard and um Caitlin was climbing up the playhouse or something and she just turned around and looked at me and was like I can do hard things.

Missy Franklin1:05:29

And I was like YEAH YOU CAN. I WAS so proud. But I mean, I just remember we've been on so many like bike rides or walks where she's been like, "Oh, I'm so tired." And I'm like, "We do hard things." Yeah. Like we can do hard things. And like you don't even think anything of it. And then all of a sudden it just like clicks for them and you get to witness it and it's it's so cool.

Missy Franklin1:06:34

I'm going to need all the advice in about 10 years.

Missy Franklin1:06:55

The mom routine.

Missy Franklin1:07:08

Do it.

Missy Franklin1:07:10

That would be so fun. We would love that. Well, I can't wait. You're inspiration to me.

Missy Franklin1:07:17

Is that how to do it?

Missy Franklin1:07:21

They said they're going to beat us. I mean, knowing me, my text would be like,

"I would love to do this with you. You'd be so good."

That's exactly right.

Missy Franklin1:07:36

Truly.

Missy Franklin1:07:38

Yep. That's going to be your motivational text from me.