Missy Franklin just can’t keep people from smiling. Months after winning gold in London she charmed the nation with her visit to spend time with Denver-area pediatric cancer patients and then tweeted a fellow teen injured in a deadly car crash. After all that, she still admitted to feeling nervous before her first high school swim meet of the season, then went out and blew away the over-matched field, of course.
Yet Franklin didn’t stay out of the spotlight for long, thanks to Denver NBC affiliate KUSA's filming of a Aurora (Colo.) Regis Jesuit High swim practice shortly after her first victories of the prep season. While getting footage of the entire squad’s litany of cool down exercises and post-meet drills, cameramen caught Missy using a rather innovative drill -- seal inspired, perhaps? -- to reinforce proper balance while swimming the backstroke. While using regular strokes, Franklin balanced a water bottle on her forehead, out of the water.
As USA Today’s Scott Allen noted, Franklin’s dominance over the rest of the prep field is so clear cut that Missy may need some new competitive challenges. Like racing the backstroke with a bottle on her forehead, for instance.
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Either way, the drill is good for some quick and easy entertainment for the rest of us as we continue to marvel at Franklin’s aquatic prowess and remarkable poise and fun-loving maturity. She’s certainly proving that the words “fun” and “mature” don’t have to be oxymoronic, which is awfully refreshing, isn’t it?
Just don’t ask her fellow Colorado teen racers about facing off against Missy. As if being a teenager isn’t tough enough, try pulling the tough luck of landing a matchup with Missy in the pool after a tough test. That’s a rough day.
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