Melissa “Missy” Franklin made a smashing Olympics debut in the summer of 2012, winning a total of five medals, four of them gold. She tore through the women's backstroke events, winning gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, setting what was at the time a world record in the process. She was 17 years old.
Franklin was raised in Colorado and holds dual American and Canadian citizenship. She began swimming lessons at the age of five in order to learn water safety. Full of natural talent, she’d set a number of national age-group records by the time she was a young teen.
In 2009, she was named to the U.S. national youth team, and in 2010 joined the U.S. national team. That same year, she won the first international medals of her career at the FINA Short Course World Championships, earning a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke. She also won silver as part of the American 4×100-meter medley relay team.
The following year, at the FINA world championships, Franklin cemented her status as a force to be reckoned with. Her time in the 200-meter backstroke was the third fastest in the history of the event, winning her a gold medal. She took three more golds and a silver in the freestyle and medley relay races, and a bronze in the 50-meter backstroke. Later on in 2011, at the World Cup meet in Berlin, she set her first world record at 2 minutes, 0.03 seconds in the 200-meter backstroke.
In addition to her wildly successful run in the 2012 Olympics, Franklin made history as the first American woman to swim in seven events at a single Games. Franklin’s success has seen her win a total of twenty-eight medals in international competitions throughout the course of her career. She retired from competitive swimming in 2018 and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2019.
Since retiring, Franklin has dedicated herself to family life and represents the USA Swimming Foundation as an ambassador, advocating for mental health awareness. She also works on the Saving Lives Is Always in Season's national campaign, which works to remove barriers to learn-to-swim programs as part of a nationwide effort to reduce drownings.