Exclusive interview ‘I had achieved all my goals at 17’
Missy Franklin was a teenage prodigy – winning four golds at London 2012 – but when injury ended her career in the pool she realised all she really craved was a normal life, says Kate Rowan
What happens to an athlete when she reaches the pinnacle of her sport before she has even started university? How does a 17-year-old cope with the scrutiny that comes with winning four Olympic gold medals? In sport, there can be a certain pathos that clings to those deemed child prodigies, the sense of a whole life stretching ahead for which the same heights will never be reached again.
But when American swimmer Missy Franklin hung up her swimsuit last year aged 23, she walked away with a fresh perspective on life. A debilitating shoulder injury forced her away from the water, but Franklin was determined to regain her sense of self, “to be a great person and not just a great athlete”.
The only child of Canadian parents who grew up in Colorado, Franklin was acutely aware of the situation she found herself in, becoming one of the faces of the 2012 London Olympic Games: she had achieved all of her goals, without a significant setback.
Speaking to Telegraph Women’s Sport, Franklin describes how she went from enjoying every moment in the pool to being plagued with anxiety in the build-up to the 2016 Rio Games. “Coming up to Rio was one of the hardest times in my life because I never realised how much of my identity was wrapped in my swimming and success,” she
‘Everything was so much fun in London. I was living my dream. But I feel very comfortable saying my priority is being a wife and a mom’
said. “I had only ever known success in the sport, ever since I was 15, I had set these goals for myself and I would go out and accomplish them.
“Everything had been so much fun and so exciting in London, I was living my dream. Then all of a sudden that was so dramatically and drastically flipped on its back. I had realised how much of my self-worth I had placed in my results. I had to understand who I am as a person has nothing to do with a time or a position I am able to achieve in a pool.” Testimony to her incredible talent, Franklin still managed to win gold in the 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay.
A yearning for a more normal life shone through in her choices even before retirement, enrolling at the University of California at Berkeley rather than opting to turn pro after the London Olympics. There she enjoyed an environment where success was immaterial to long-lasting friendships, unaffected by her gold-medal glory. “It was incredibly normal at college. At Berkeley, you drive around campus and they have special parking for Nobel Prize winners,” she laughed. “Everyone is so involved in their passions, they don’t get blown away by things going on there, and me being there was very, very normal.”
When Franklin announced her retirement, her next priority was to become a wife and mother. The marriage came first when she tied the knot with former collegiate swimmer Hayes Johnson last week. Five of her closest friends from Berkeley were bridesmaids at the wedding. “It is not fashionable to say you want to be a wife and mother,” she said. “To me, being a mom is the greatest job in the world and I have known for a long time that is one of my greatest callings. People have different religions and faiths and different priorities. I feel very comfortable saying my priority is being a wife and a mom, while for someone else their priority might be their career.
“There is so much pressure on girls to be good at different things, and that goes back to where your values lies and realising it is not our job to be great at everything and we can’t put that pressure on ourselves. As long as we are doing enough to be the best version of ourselves, that is what matters, it is not about being perfect.”
Retirement was not an easy decision to make, but the thought of not being able to play with any children she may have in the future was one of the factors behind her decision, such was the extent of her shoulder pain. Her husband was a strength in his support.
“He was with me through all the sleepless nights and all the tears that went into my decision to retire,” she said.
Franklin also found comfort in her faith. Although she attended a Catholic high school, she describes herself as a “non-denominational” Christian. As part of the Olympian’s Instagram biography, she references the biblical verse Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds.”
She is highly conscious that many will not share her devotion but hopes that the message of “shining your light” is relevant. “Shining your light in my mind comes back to God, sharing his love. If the religious aspect does not resonate with everybody, you can still be your own unique person and give that kindness and love out and there is so much power in that.”
Unlike Margaret Court or Israel Folau, who cited their Christianity in denouncing homosexuality, Franklin openly supports Pride and LGBT causes on her social-media accounts. “Regardless of any differences, I think one of the greatest things we can do is love each other and that is why I support Pride,” she said.
Such is her interest in theology, she is completing a degree in the subject. “One thing that really drew me to studying religion is that you take classes in every major religion. I have learnt so much about Buddhism, Islam, Judaism,” she said. “To have that opportunity to learn about these other faiths has been beautiful, because I didn’t realise how I held stereotypical beliefs about other religions until I truly started to learn about them. I find it has helped me to understand other people.”
Franklin has found that she can shine out of the pool through charitable work. Last February, she was named the youngest member of the Laureus Academy. Laureus utilises sport to help young people around the world and it was during her trip to Sri Lanka with the organisation, where she led a swim clinic with disadvantaged young people, that she found a renewed purpose. “Any time I get to work with kids and see how a programme can change lives and how I can use the platform of having been an athlete to give back and improve the lives of others, I couldn’t imagine a better way to shine that light.”
The principles of kindness and love by which Franklin lives her life could be seen to be at odds with the mindset of a great competitor, but she disagrees.
“I think there is a misconception that in order to be competitive, you need to be tough and strong and have smack talk with the people you are competing with, but in my experiences it is the opposite. You can be competitive and tough, but also kind and loving. I was consistently striving to be the best athlete you can be in the pool every day, but to become a great person is infinitely more important and I use my mindset from swimming to do that.”