“It’s one thing to inspire all these little girls by winning a bunch of medals. That’s easy. But it’s another thing entirely to be an inspiration when things aren’t exactly going your way.”
– Missy Franklin, Relentless Spirit: The Unconventional Raising of a Champion
Few people describe winning a bunch of medals, especially gold medals, as Missy did at the 2012 London Olympics, as “easy.” It’s difficult to win a race at any meet, let alone in the most competitive swim meet in the world. Despite the difficulty and the rarity of winning or setting a record, the swimming world and American culture as a whole glorify winning, setting records, making PR’s, sustaining dominance. A definition of success based on fast times and victories can be seductive but also dangerous to a swimmer’s well-being, as Isabelle Robuck explains in “Defining Success Beyond Fast Times and Medals Just Might Save Your Swimming Career (and Life)”.
Robuck’s article focuses on Franklin’s difficulties after those London Games especially leading up to, and including, the Rio Olympics in 2016. The hard reality is that athletes can work hard, plan for every eventuality, and still fail to reach goals or even previous best times. Friends and teammates seem to cruise to new heights while we stay mired in tired swims. Stress, distractions, and injuries may play a role, and the swimming world is beginning to recognize that mental illness can derail swimmers as effectively as physical illness. Even when swimmers stay healthy, fast times and competitive rankings may mysteriously elude us. Are we then unsuccessful?
For Franklin, the amount of traditional success she achieved as a 17-year-old was a heavy weight. A diagnosis of depression and anxiety just two weeks before the 2016 US Olympic Trials in Omaha revealed to Missy and her family just how much pressure she was under. The outside world knew nothing, and sadly watched Missy struggle, making her way to Rio in three events in which she failed to final. Though Missy is the ultimate teammate, supporting the US team while her personal challenges shook her foundations, she said “the hardest thing I had to do in Rio was climb into my seat in the athlete stands for the finals of the 200 back, an event I’d won in London with a world-record time. An event that was going on without me.” (Robuck)
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