Missy Franklin hit the ground running in the first days of her professional swimming career, announcing that she’ll be a part of the mega-agency WME-IMG with Mark Ervin as her agent.
Franklin made the announcement in an interview with Beth Harris of The Associated Press a day after she helped the California Golden Bears win the NCAA Women’s Division I swimming and diving team championship. Franklin won three individual events — the first to do so in four years — and set an American record in the 200 freestyle.
Franklin made it known during her senior year of high school that she wanted to compete as a collegiate athlete for only two seasons, then become a professional swimmer in March 2015. The decision now allows her to earn prize money at meets such as the Arena Pro Swim Series and make money on endorsements. When she announced that she would attend UC-Berkeley, she said she planned to stay with head coach Teri McKeever through at least the 2016 Olympics. But the AP article mentions that returning to Todd Schmitz, who guided Franklin to her first taste of international success with the Colorado Stars, is also a possibility.
According to the AP article, Franklin will be Ervin’s first swimming client. Ervin works with such professional athletes as snowboarder Shaun White and skier Lindsay Vonn. Ervin was one of many agents who interviewed with Franklin’s mother for the right to represent her, and Franklin said “I feel like 100 percent we stand for the same things.”
Making money has never appeared to be the primary focus for Franklin. In the AP interview, she mentioned the goal of having a bigger platform to “inspire, reach out and help and encourage.”
Franklin has lent her voice to many causes while remaining an “amateur athlete.” She participated in a documentary called “The Current” as an ambassador to help raise awareness of the perseverance of disabled athletes via water-based activities such as swimming with dolphins. She also appeared in the Swim For MS campaign shortly after winning five medals at the 2012 Olympics.
Shortly after news broke this morning, WME-IMG released the following statement regarding the signing:
WME | IMG has signed four-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin for worldwide marketing representation.
Franklin, 19, turned professional today following the 2015 NCAA Championships where she led the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) women’s swimming team to a NCAA women’s team championship. Franklin also captured three individual NCAA titles at the meet and set an American record in the 200-yard freestyle.
Recognized for her bright smile and engaging personality, Franklin became a household name during her debut at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Then 17, she won gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke (setting the world record), 4×200-meter free relay and 4×100-meter medley relay (also a world record). She also won a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter free relay.
“I think what WME and IMG have built across the last year is really dynamic and I feel like it’s the right fit for me as I turn professional,” Franklin said. “My focus in the pool is going to be pushing myself day in and day out to be my best self and achieve my goals and I know that my new team at WME | IMG will help me use the platform I have been given to make a difference.”
She followed her Olympic success by winning six gold medals at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, becoming the most-decorated female swimmer in history at a single World Championships. Franklin will look to add to her international medal count at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Sochi, Russia and will compete in next year’s U.S Olympic Team Trials – Swimming where she will look to qualify for the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Franklin was raised in Centennial, Colorado and began swimming competitively at the age of five. A member of the U.S. National Swim Team, Franklin competed for two years at Cal before turning professional.
Franklin’s team will be led by Mark Ervin, Senior Vice President, IMG Clients.
So happy for her! Great job Missy.