Missy Franklin Scuba Dives to Promote Disabled Involvement in Sports

PHOENIX, Arizona, December 5. IT'S becoming apparent that Missy Franklin can do no wrong. Franklin called the survivor of a fatal crash (a competitive swimmer, as well) earlier in the week, after friends of the victim rallied to make it happen via Twitter. Now, the Denver Post reports that Franklin will appear in a movie teaching scuba diving to individuals with disabilities.

Franklin is working toward scuba certification so she can spend her spring break diving with dolphins for a scene in Kurt Miller's movie “The Current,” to be released in the summer of 2013. She is considered an “athlete ambassador” for the film, a title she also uses as part of Miller's Make a Hero nonprofit organization. The film is promoted as a tool to help disabled individuals get involved in sports.

US Paralympian Mallory Weggemann is also appearing in the film. The plot follows a number of disabled individuals as they discover the healing powers of the ocean and other water-based adaptive sports. Weggemann was paralyzed from the waist down in 2008, as a college freshman, after receiving an epidural injection to treat lower back pain. She has since set 16 World Records and 33 American Records as a Paralympic athlete.

Starting December 7, Franklin will spend 7 mornings on a local Denver radio station asking for people to nominate individuals with disabilities for a learn-to-scuba-dive vacation in Cozumel.

“There are so many people with disabilities in my life who inspire me,” Franklin told the Denver Post “There are so many incredible stories of people overcoming odds that are not overcomeable. It's just so cool to meet them and see them and just watch them do so well, watch their success.”

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