Reported by Lauren Neidigh.
WOMEN’S 50 BACK – 3 ROUNDS:
- Pro Swim Series Record: Natalie Coughlin, 27.51, Santa Clara 2015
WINNER: REGAN SMITH – 27.85
- Round 1: Olivia Smoliga clipped Regan Smith, 28.21 to 28.34, in round 1. Also advancing wereXuwei Peng(28.66) and Jade Hannah (28.71)
- Round 2: Smoliga kicked it up a notch to break the 28 barrier, touching in 27.98 ahead of Smith’s 28.07.
- Round 3: Smoliga had the edge at the start, but Smith came through in the final 15 meters to out-touch Smoliga, 27.85 to 27.89, for the win.
Guess she’s finishing her degree there but a degree from Cal would have been much better than degree from Georgia!
GO DAWGS MISSY!
I’m surprised she’s not transferring the credits back to Cal since most of her degree was earned there. I know of a few football players who transferred for their senior season but still graduated from their original school. Maybe Cal is pickier about what transfer credits it takes?
I think Missy needs to concentrate on the 200 free. With Sjostrom out, Pellegrini out, and really only Ledecky and to a lesser extent Ruck, Yanhan, and Ikee to compete against, she has a shot at winning multiple Olympic medals again. Her days in the 100 back are gone as it is entering a new era of speed, and I don’t think she’ll ever beat Smith or Seebohm or Masse again in the 200 back. I wish her the best at Georgia.
definitely need to include McKeon in there.
Its almost like no one wants it. Everyone who does the 200 also does several other events. Pellegrini should change her mind cause she owns this thing;.
Yeah Emma is the nearest to KL sans Fed and Sarah. I’m not convinced that Sjösrom’s absence will be permanent though.
If they (Sarah and Katie) stay in the current shape for three more years and there would be no new prodigies in sprint and Cate Campbell wouldn’t return to her best then these two swimmers being dominant in their major disciplines will save the energy to clash again at 200free, for sure, to make a history of number of Olympic medals and versatility.
But there are too many “IF”s for such a long period.
Missy Franklin has gotten spoiled with the simple wisdom that making money around the pool is easier than do it in the pool. She needs the schoolgirl’s mindset to work hard and pushing herself to the limits in order to come back. The mindset that is forming naturally to teenager when everything is blooming in your body and there is no other options known to her but trying more and more and seeing the immediate result of these efforts. Now she Has options and this can be heard at any of her recent interviews. She will never come back. But move to Georgia is a good step in her career. Forget about California and everything that was related to it.… Read more »
Truth is, she doesn’t care about money. She doesn’t swim for money, she swims for herself.
I don’t know what she swims for. And I don’t have information if she even does it. We haven’t seen her in competition of any level for 19 months already.
She does care about money. That was the reason to interrupt her college education and to become a professional almost three years ago. When she did it in March 2015 she immediately announced the professional agency to represent her. The decision about the coach to train her for the WC was definitely a secondary of importance and was made three months later.
And you just supported my point: if she is swimming for herself she will never return to the elite level. A stronger motivation is required for… Read more »
At this point, I’m going to have to see it to believe it with Franklin. She hasn’t been relevant since 2013 worlds. That’s over 4 years now, and likely 5 as I don’t see her doing anything significant this season. 1 or 2 down years, you can run the “comeback” narrative. 5? That’s what I call the end of a career.
I don’t think it’s necessarily over for Missy. The best parallel I can think of is Amanda Beard. Beard was amazing in 1996, then fell off into irrelevance between 1997 and 2002, and then started breaking world records again in 2003. Missy is only 22, so her body is still strong assuming her shoulders rehab fully. Georgia could be a good environment for her, training with a co-ed group of swimmers around her age.
Amanda won Bronze in the 200 Breast in Sydney. Not necessarily vintage Beard but far from irrelevant. So I’d shrink that window by a year.
If it’s over, she had a good run.