USA TODAY Sports counts down the 100 days to the Rio Olympics with daily stories about athletes, teams and coaches preparing for the Summer Games. The opening ceremony is Aug. 5.
NEW YORK — Missy Franklin’s smile is exactly the same — it still lights up any room it’s in — but the rest of the scene takes some getting used to.
She’s decked out in Speedo gear, head to toe, and hops in the pool ready to help promote Speedo’s new water-based workout initiative by showing exercises to members of the media. This is life as a professional swimmer. Sponsorship obligations, interviews with reporters and, yes, training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — that’s Franklin’s new world.
After she won over millions of fans with her five Olympic medals in 2012, her fondness for dancing to Justin Bieber and her electric smile, the then-17-year-old Franklin decided to maintain her amateur status to go to college. She spent two years at Cal, winning four individual NCAA titles, before turning pro last summer. She has spent the past year and will spend the coming months training for Rio at home in Colorado with coach Todd Schmitz, who trained her before London, too. No more college classes or finals to worry about.
“It's definitely a different atmosphere,” Franklin said in mid-April. “It's been a different kind of juggling. I think the atmosphere that I'm in right now is exactly the atmosphere that I need to be in. I think for the past two years, being part of a college atmosphere, being with (Cal coach) Teri (McKeever), being with Cal, that was exactly what I wanted. That was exactly what I needed. Now this year it's all a little bit more individual-(focused).”
Franklin said her sponsorship and media obligations have been more exhausting than she expected. For example, she flew from Arizona to New York directly from the Mesa Arena Pro Series swim meet without going home to train or rest.
Though her body is used to the grind of a swimming regimen, it’s not quite used to this.
“I thought I would have a really good handle, going into it,” Franklin said. “I kind of had a couple years to prepare for it, which I felt was an advantage knowing that I was going to be in this life and having the time to talk to other athletes about what it was like. It definitely is a little bit more tiring than I was expecting it to be. I think it sounds kind of silly, when you talk about it. You know photo shoots and shooting for commercials, those things are actually really taxing. More mentally than anything, when you get back I think it's just all the matter of being smart, and training to make the most of those situations.
"That's another reason why being home is so awesome. Todd's able to come with me for a lot of that stuff, and it’s been so helpful having him there. We've really been able to make sure I'm getting the most out of my training, while I'm doing all these other obligations.”
Franklin said she has set a “blackout” date for the end of these types of commitments — in mid-May — and at that point, she will amp up her training heading into the U.S. Olympic trials, which begin in late June.
Franklin is expected to swim her signature events: backstroke and freestyle, with her eye on making relay teams as well. She may swim as many as seven events in Rio, if all goes well at trials.
The key to that happening? Balance. And Franklin thinks she’s got that figured out, even as the stress of an Olympic year continues to build.
“I always make sure I get my ‘bubble’ time,” Franklin said. “I think it's very important. When I have crazy meets or there is a lot going on, when I do get back from that, I make sure I have time to go out to dinner by myself. To go see a movie by myself. To pick up a book and just read for an entire weekend. I’m just making sure that with all this craziness, I think getting my ‘me’ time and my down time is more important than ever.
“I'm kind of a secret introvert. I love being around people, but there are also times when I just love being by myself, too. Just being able to have that quite time, just being alone and cherishing that. I think you cherish that more as you get older. I think especially this year, I’m really grateful, and I make sure I get this time for myself.”
PHOTOS: MISSY FRANKLIN THROUGH THE YEARS
