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After a stressful prelim session that saw a snafu occur in seeding the women’s 400 freestyle relay heats, the Americans managed to secure a bronze medal in the final. Missy Franklin, Margo Geer, Lia Neal and Simone Manuel talked about the team effort needed to win the medal.
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Franklin and Manuel talked about the emotions behind having the relay be their first swim of the meet. Franklin said it is a great start to the meet, with the fun energy overtaking the nerves that come with the first swim of the competition. Manuel said “it was kind of weird” to have a relay be her first event of the meet, but also fed on the energy of her teammates and the cheers from the crowd.
Geer made her debut in a world championship final and said she was excited to get the nod to be in the final after working toward that goal for many years.
Neal, a veteran of the championship final of the relay at major meets, said the four talked about having a fun vibe while racing hard in the moments before the race.
