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Though she was likely feeling the pain in the final stretches of the 200 free final at the FINA world championships, Missy Franklin used the word “fun” to describe the battle for medals in the final 25 meters of the race. She won the bronze behind American teammate Katie Ledecky and Federica Pellegrini with a 1:55.49.
“It was so fun,” she said of the final 50 meters. “I knew it was going to come down to that. After racing Federica for the past couple of years, I know her last 25 is always just ridiculous, and that’s how Katie is, too.”
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Winning a bronze medal likely helped keep the smile on Franklin’s face, which she had just received before talking with reporters. Her ever-present laugh appeared a few times as she talked about the intense race.
“I was honestly so excited about that race,” she said. “I knew it was going to be so fun and we were just going to go after it, and that’s what we did.”
She was still positive when mentioning that her times in her races aren’t up to expectations, but she knows that in 2016, it won’t make much of a difference what she did the year before in Russia.
“Based on my results on this meet, I know my times haven’t been where I want them to be,” she said. “It doesn’t matter come next summer. I’m going to do what I will do this next year, and be where I want to be come Trials.”
Like Ledecky, Franklin has a busy schedule at the world championships, with the 100 free and 200 back remaining in her individual event lineup. She said she is still telling herself not to be overwhelmed with the enormity of her schedule, and to focus on just one race at a time.
I read her comments as yet more evidence that the elite vets on the US team aren’t taking this meet very seriously.