CENTENNIAL — Missy Franklin may add to her swimming menu of the 100 and 200 freestyles and backstrokes. The 50 freestyle and individual medleys are possibilities, her Colorado Stars coach told me.
The World Championships in Barcelona are six months away and Franklin won the 50 freestyle in the opening Grand Prix meet in Minneapolis.
“It’s always been her sixth or seventh best event,” coach Todd Schmitz said. “But she’s getting stronger. We’re going to continue that. The 50 free is wide open. A lot of names are going to retire.”
A year ago, Franklin dropped the 200 IM, partially because her breaststroke and butterfly weren’t on a par with her other strokes and it was the third event of the day on the Olympics schedule. For what it’s worth, she swam an IM in Regis Jesuit High’s dual meet win over Highlands Ranch.
“This year we’re going to continue to develop it and see where it comes along,” Schmitz said. “We have two more Grand Prix stops. We’ll see how it progresses.”
All Franklin knows is she’ll defend her world championship in the 200 backstroke, where she broke the world record in London, and hopes to add a world title in the 100 backstroke, her other individual Olympic gold medal.
She didn’t medal in the 100 and 200 freestyles in London.
“My freestyles, I wasn’t real happy with how I finished this summer so it’s going to be great practice to get on a world championship stage and see where I am this time around,” Franklin said. “That has been a huge motivator at practice.”
As for the individual medley?
“We’ll see,” she said. “I don’t know at this point. With everything going on it might be too much to add. There are a lot better American IMers than me. We’re just going to concentrate on the back and free.”
But, she added, “I don’t like specializing. I think it would be fun to improve my breast and butterfly.”
She also said she has no idea what she’ll swim in the state high school meet.
