Missy Franklin‘s career has been marred by adversity these last several years. In 2014, it was back spasms that kept her from performing to her full potential, and she continued to struggle in the years that followed. The once-bubbly teenager, who took the world by storm and set the world record in the 200 back in 2012, was not the same.
Franklin faced ultimate disappointment this past summer, looking sluggish at the Olympic Trials. She was only able to qualify for Rio individually in two events, the 200 free and 200 back, and also qualified to swim the 800 free relay. Franklin watched on in the 800 free relay finals after a lackluster prelims swim that left her off the 800 free final at night. The Americans would go on to win gold in that race, while Franklin stumbled and was unable to make the Olympic finals of either of her individual events.
Franklin hasn’t raced since Rio, and she’s been quiet since opening up about her disappointment from last summer. Still, she is back in the pool. According to a tweet posted by her today, she underwent surgery earlier this year on both her shoulders for bursitis after a January MRI. This surgery removed excess scar tissue that had built up in her shoulder, and now, according to “Doctor and Coach’s orders,” she’s taking it easy.
Franklin mentions that she is still back in the pool “in limited training” but won’t be racing quite so soon. She’s determined to bounce back, although her return to competition is unknown yet. View her tweet, with the full announcement, below.
I love you all so so much and can't thank you enough for being a part of this journey with me💖 pic.twitter.com/PmZ9IbpYIF
— Missy Franklin Johnson (@missyfranklin) March 29, 2017
Franklin also made a longer caption on her Facebook page with the same announcement. She thanks her fans for supporting her, and gives a special shoutout to her “Bear Bros and phenomenal coaches,” referring to her training group at the Cal. Additionally, she alludes to more swimming statements to be made in the future: “I’m so far from being done with this sport.”
Cool to have news of Missy Franklin the day I asked a question about her on swimswam to know if she planned to swim this year or not. Looks like she has answered me. 🙂
Now we know the truth. Missy was injured and had surgeries. It’s never easy to come back from that but on the other hand I think we must take the good side of that news and it’s an opportunity for her to refresh and take a moment far from competitive swimming. She’s a champion and a champion can come back from tough situations.
Take your time Missy. The most important years are 2019 and 2020.
I wish you the best possible recovery.
I clearly recall you writing in 2015: take your time Missy. The most important year is 2016. You are getting repeating yourself with a little adjustment of the year of importance.
Let me help you with what important for Missy now. She is in business of making money on people’s good feelings to her and great memories of much promising career that hasn’t happened to meet expectations of long run. Each year in such business is of great importance to her of not letting us to forget about her. If you believe that we won’t hear from her until 2019 then you are really mistaken. I bet that in three months she will surface again to confirm us of… Read more »
Why such bitterness? Probably from grudge holding Cal coaching staff. Won’t forgive Ms. Franklin for fleeing to a safer more stable training situation leading up to Rio? Multiple Cal swimmers did this to try to make the olympic team. Made Cal coach look bad for training injuries, etc. Then Cal coach not selected for USA team. Read Book “Relentless Spirit” for scoop about how Cal coach treated her on deck during practices. Icy.
Bitterness? You’ve found a right word. You love her – good for you. I don’t anymore.
It is a long conversation to make a sober look of who Missy Franklin is actually as swimmer. You can find myriad cases like her one when a talented stroker with quite good freestyle sparked right after puberty transformation and lost the magic with the following physical body development into adult woman. There were five(!) outstanding world record performances made by young and very young females in London Olympics. Only one of five was able to maintain world class level to the next Olympics. And it wasn’t Missy. She was one of four who have declined strongly. Quite an average case as you… Read more »
Recovering from surgeries is best understood by those who experience it. It’s a lot to go through. It takes courage, perseverance, strength, energy, and hardest of all patience with the sometimes slow process of healing. It is HARD. Kudos to Missy Franklin. She keeps moving forward and has much to look forward to, both in and out of the pool. Never forget Missy is a multiple Olympic gold medal winner, and also understand that it is lonely at the top. One must withstand much, and she certainly has with grace. Go Missy!
I’m wondering how did she get such an ailment. She didn’t race after Olympics before January. She wasn’t in hard training taking a time off of swimming being mostly busy with promoting her next book. May she signed too many books and shook too many hands. But in this case only one shoulder should have problem. Probably she is naturally ambidextrous – that explains. Very rare ability. But who says that she isn’t a unique person.
Bursas grow back. Will the surgery even fix anything?! If bursitis was a real problem and the underlying cause was not fixed, her career might be over
Let us all not forget that Missy Franklin was by far the best swimmer on the planet for three solid years, including a phenomenal olympics in 2012. Anyone who says her career is an underachievement is full of baloney and living in another dimension. Whatever she does or doesn’t do at this point is simply icing on the cake. But, to suggest that she will not be good anymore is an equally foolish thing to say.
Spiking about dimension. Why to restrict yourself with the “planet” scope. It will be no exaggeration to make a statement that she was the best swimmer in the Solar System or even in the Milky Way Galaxy. However I will be careful with the Universe. We still have a hope to find the Life on some remote planet somewhere deep in the Cosmos and who knows it can be a Swimmer there greater than Missy Franklin.
She does it again: making a media wave touching people’s four-five years old sensitive memories. Please don’t make drama or even tragedy where there is nothing like this. She doesn’t have a cancer. Just minor surgery after which first class swimmer recovers usually… Read more »
All the best Missy whatever you decide
Finally she’s found a decent way out.
“Up the downstairs”. In four years she went the way from 17 yo two times world best swimmer of the year to the best college swimmer of the year to not being able of making finals to the “taking it easy”. Missy Franklin is definitely extraordinary person. It is amazing how she managed to keep an interest in her during this long period of decline. I will remember her outstanding record at 200 BK that will stay for long while, her winning race at 800 relay in Barcelona, her coming from nowhere unexplainable record at 200FR SCY after having back spasm in summer, and for her really remarkable ability to surf for… Read more »
She’s not dead.
She might be a factor in the 200 back, but I fear her time at the top has passed. While I wish her the best, I hope she finds happiness outside of the pool so that her self-worth and emotional state are not tied to her performances or her identity as Missy the Swimmer.