Olympic champion and all-around superstar, Missy Franklin, was recently a special guest at an event in Ketchum, Idaho honoring remarkable women. Franklin was one of 14 female leaders on stage at the inaugural “Conversations with Exceptional Women” seminar, hosted by non-profit organization, the Sun Valley Institute.
The event was aimed at providing a forum for the guests to share their past experiences and future hopes of womankind across all areas of society. In addition to 20 year-old Franklin, other notable panelists included Idaho Senate minority leader Michelle Stennett and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Annette Gordon-Reed. The topics of gender equality and understanding in America was a common thread among the 14 speakers during the event.
Team members from the Sun Valley 5B swim team were on-hand to hear Franklin talk about the love for her parents, the sacrifices she has made to become one of the world’s most dominant female swimmers, as well as her thoughts on the sexualization of women in sports advertising.
During the discussion, ESPY Award and Honda Sports Award winner for ‘Top Female NCAA Athlete of the Year’ echoed her statements from an interview with NBC Today earlier this year, where Franklin indicated she would use caution when evaluating sponsorship opportunities since she made the decision to turn professional.
Specifically on the subject of the sexualization of female athletes, Franklin expressed to NBC Today back in May that, “At this point in my career that’s [representing my values] something I want to be extremely conscientious of. I just turned 20 years old. I’m very young. In terms of coming off like that, I really don’t want to. That’s not really who I am and that’s not what I’m about. Other athletes may feel differently and that’s OK; that’s the way they want to be portrayed. Just because mine is different doesn’t make it any more wrong or any more right.”
Earlier this year, Franklin was ranked #4 on SportsPro’s list of the most marketable athletes over the next three years. Franklin was the only swimmer on the list.
My 10 year old competitive swimmer has a poster of Missy Franklin on her wall. I love her stance on women in sports… what a good head she has on her shoulders.