A state of world-class women
Colorado women could make huge splash at Rio Olympics next year
When people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.
“I do have to qualify again,” Franklin said before a recent workout in Denver. “I have to keep reminding a lot of people of that. It’s one step at a time for sure.”
It would be a shock, though, if the quadruple gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics doesn’t compete in multiple events when the Olympics come to South America for the first time. As in London three years ago, those Games figure to serve as another showcase for America’s female athletes, including Franklin and five other women who call Colorado home.
Jenny Simpson of Boulder is one of the world’s best 1,500-meter runners, a two-time world championships medalist. Training partner Emma Coburn, like Simpson a former Colorado Buffalo, is America’s best steeplechaser.
Janay DeLoach of Fort Collins won a bronze medal in the long jump three years ago in London. Kara Patterson Winger, the American record holder in the javelin, moved to Colorado Springs after the 2012 London Games, where she competed with a blown-out ACL.
Adeline Gray, who grew up in Denver and lives in Colorado Springs, hopes to go to Rio as a two-time world champion in wrestling — unless she wins a third world title next month, that is.
Best of the best
“I think it’s kind of the wave right now; there’s a lot of females that are stepping up to be the role models for the next generation of girls,” Gray said. “It’s very important for those young girls to have those role models. Those stories are so important — and are kind of blowing up right now.”
The Rio Games, which will occur in Brazil’s coolest month, will bring lots of attention to other women on Team USA as well. Start with the U.S. women’s soccer team, which captured the imagination of the nation again this summer by becoming the first threetime winner of the women’s World Cup.
Gwen Jorgensen, the reigning world champion in triathlon from St. Paul, Minn., has won an incredible 11 consecutive events on the World Triathlon Series. Jorgensen finished 38th in the 2012 Olympics after suffering a flat tire on the bike.
Gymnast Simone Biles of Spring, Texas, who turned pro last week, is a two-time world all-around champion. Swimmer Katie Ledecky of Bethesda, Md., won a surprise gold medal in the 800meter freestyle in London when she was 15 years old, and was named the world swimmer of the year in 2013.
She competes in different events than Franklin.
“No one really knew who Katie Ledecky was until March of 2012. She had an amazing meet in March, and people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, who is this girl?’ ” Franklin said. “Several months later she won a gold medal in the Olympics. Katie does so much for our team. She’s such an inspiration. When you can surround yourself with people that make you better, that make you stronger and want to be better, that’s when you will be better.”
But there is that issue of having to qualify for Rio. In track and field, the top three athletes at the Olympic Trials qualify in each event. In swimming, usually it’s the top two. In wrestling, only the winner in each weight class gets to go.
“I have medals at the last three world championships, and for the whole quad (since London), I’ve gone undefeated in the United States,” Gray said. “If I lose one match at Olympic Trials, I don’t go to the Olympics.”
Coburn has been America’s best steeplechaser since 2011, but she too has the same anxiety when her thoughts turn to Rio.
“Everything has to be perfect on a given day to do your best and qualify,” Coburn said. “When I think of Rio, I immediately stop and I pause and I think of the Olympic Trials. If things go well (there), I think Rio will be a great experience.”
Rio figures to be huge for Simpson because she will turn 30 that month. Having won medals in one of her sport’s premier events at the past two world championships — including gold in 2011 — she would be in her prime as a middle distance runner. No American woman has won the 1,500 at the Olympics, and only one other American woman has claimed gold in the event at the world championships — Mary Decker (1983).
“This is the Olympics that I am theoretically the perfect age,” Simpson said. “There’s always pressure surrounding the Olympics because it’s once every four years, but I guess it’s doubled-down a little bit when it’s the Olympics that falls in the sweet spot of your age and the trajectory of your career. I feel like Rio is that Games for me.”
It’s an entirely different scenario for Franklin, who won five medals (four gold) in the 2012 Games at age 17. She figures to compete in one or two more Olympics after Rio, and has made no secret that she wants to become the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time. Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin share that distinction with 12 medals each.
Coping with pressure
The adjustment for Franklin this time is that America expects her to keep winning after the splash she made in London.
“For me, it’s not about pretending like it’s not there. It’s about using it to make myself better,” Franklin said. “Bob Bowman (Michael Phelps’ coach) once told me something I say all the time: There’s two ways to look at pressure. You can look at it as expectations or you can look at it as support. For me, having all these people believe that I can do it again, that’s something that really means a lot to me. That really motivates me, because I don’t want to let those people down.” John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnmeyer