Olympic champ Franklin leaving college

Missy Franklin has bid farewell to college swimming and is turning pro.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist went out with a bang, winning three individual events and helping her California team win the NCAA championship last weekend.

Now, Franklin can start competing for money and endorsement deals, and she’s signed with a sports agent connected to Hollywood.

Franklin said that she’s chosen Mark Ervin of WME-IMG to represent her. She will be the first swimmer in his client stable that includes Olympic champion skier Lindsey Vonn . Ervin used to work with Olympic snowboarder Shaun White .

After winning four golds at the 2012 London Olympics, Franklin left millions of dollars on the table and announced she would swim for two years at Cal. She closed out her career by winning NCAA titles in the 200-yard individual medley, 200 backstroke and 200 freestyle last weekend in North Carolina. She swam on the winning 800 free relay and the second-place 400 free relay while helping the Golden Bears win the NCAA championship.

Franklin has yet to decide where she will base her training leading up to the Rio Games in 2016. Once she returns to the Berkeley campus in a week, she’ll sit down with college Coach Teri McKeever and make a plan.

Former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan of South Korea was banned 18 months for doping. Swimming governing body FINA says Park tested positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition drug test in September.

The 25-year-old Park won the 400-meter freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also took silver in the 200 free in Beijing and silvers in both events at the 2012 London Games.