Missy Franklin & Emily Seebohm Miss Olympic 200 Back Final

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES

Australia’s Emily Seebohm and American Missy Franklin have both missed the Olympic 200 back final, after the two combined to win every World and Olympic title since 2012.

It’s been a surprisingly rough Olympics for Seebohm coming off almost a full calendar year where she was unbeatable worldwide in the backstrokes. She won the world title last summer in Kazan Russia, and was the silver medalist a year earlier at the Pan Pacific Championships.

Seebohm tore up the World Cup series last fall, and looked like the favorite in both backstrokes heading into Rio.

But she’s struggled so far, falling to 7th in the 100 back and going 2:09.39 to take just 12th in the first 200 back semifinal. That leaves her out of the medal final tomorrow night.

Franklin upset Seebohm for the Olympic gold medal back in 2012, when it seemed she could do no wrong. Franklin would go on to win the event at the 2013 World Championships, one of a record-setting 6 golds she won at that meet.

In the second semifinal tonight, Franklin was just 2:09.74, taking 14th and missing the final.

The two won gold (Seebohm) and silver (Franklin) at last summer’s World Championships, meaning the only 2015 medalist still in the final is Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu.

Franklin is done for these Olympics, while Seebohm will likely swim a leg of Australia’s 4×100 medley relay.

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yozh1k
8 years ago

Missy needs to retire.

Or better, we should trade Missy for Oleksiak.

2beatkick
Reply to  yozh1k
8 years ago

or Missy needs to marry a crazy guy like Katinka

MTK
Reply to  yozh1k
8 years ago

Canada counters, offering Justin Bieber instead.

Mikeh
8 years ago

Missy needs to take a year off. I have no inside knowledge but she is showing all the classic signs of being overstressed and overtrained – a slow but steady decline. She and her coach should have he/r medically checked. If an athlete continually produces stress hormones on a daily basis, eventually the body wears out and just needs rest. She went straight from a world class career to a high level university, back again to the Olympics, with no rest. I bet she is simply worn out.

OTTalk
8 years ago

Time for a new training plan

SUNY Cal
8 years ago

So sad for Missy & her family. Just probably lost millions in her endorsements because of her poor Olympic showing!

Hint of Lime
Reply to  SUNY Cal
8 years ago

Hope she’s able to stay strong and positive after these Games. Really rooting for her, whatever she chooses to do next!

ArtVanDeLegh10
Reply to  Hint of Lime
8 years ago

Have you ever heard you in an interview; she’s the most positive person in the world.

HypeTrain
Reply to  SUNY Cal
8 years ago

Well actually she still going to get plenty paid. She may have missed out on some bonuses for medals but a contract is a contract and will stil be honored. Plus if she comes back and can reclaim one of the backstroke events, it still makes for a great story that they’d all (NBC, Minute Maid, GoPro, Speedo) would love to help sell.

Taa
Reply to  HypeTrain
8 years ago

True she is likely tied up with her contracts another year or two but if she stops swimming they could possibly cancel them. She also misses out now on new contracts and her ability to command high appearance/speaking fees but if she makes a compelling comeback in four years everything is back on the table

Shibly
Reply to  SUNY Cal
8 years ago

Missy’s swimming career is finished…. any bid to come back to US national team is an improbable task since US swimming is getting competitive day by day….

ArtVanDeLegh10
8 years ago

Miss-bombed

Quince
8 years ago

See-bombed

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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