The Morning Swim Show, May 22, 2012: Finals Week Just the Start of Busy Times Ahead for Missy Franklin

PHOENIX, Arizona, May 22. MISSY Franklin takes some time out from studying for her high school final exams this week to talk about what could be a very exciting summer for the teen on today's edition of The Morning Swim Show.

In addition to exams, Franklin is preparing for the Olympic Trials, and she discusses her hectic swimming schedule with host Peter Busch, and how she and coach Todd Schmitz are working to make sure Franklin is mentally and physically ready. The two also talk about the surprise rally Franklin experienced at school last week, and the upcoming start of the college recruiting season. Be sure to visit SwimmingWorld.TV for more video interviews.

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Morning Swim Show Transcripts
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Peter Busch: This is the Morning Swim Show for Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012. I am your host Peter Busch. In the FINIS Monitor today we will talk to Missy Franklin. She is excited because she just went to the junior prom. She got her braces off, and oh yeah, she has got a great chance to make her first Olympic team next month. Missy joins us right now in the FINIS Monitor from her high school in Aurora, Colorado. Hey Missy welcome to the show, how are you?

Missy Franklin: I am awesome. Thank you so much for having me.

Peter Busch: It is a pleasure to have you on my final week here at Swimming World.

Missy Franklin: We are going to miss you so much. We are all very excited for you.

Peter Busch: Thank you. I understand you have finals this week?

Missy Franklin: I do. Yes, I have my finals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and I am getting pretty nervous.

Peter Busch: All right for you, what is the school equivalent of the 400 IM? What is the final you just absolutely are not looking forward too?

Missy Franklin: AP U.S History. That one is going to be super tough. The study guide is about nine pages long and it is just terms and we just have to know all of them and I am really nervous, but my friends and I worked on it and got a study guide, so hopefully I will be okay.

Peter Busch: Well, you know it keeps your mind off of all the other stuff going on in your life right now, right?

Missy Franklin: Yeah, exactly. It is a really good distraction, so not so focused on swimming, but I can also worry about school, too.

Peter Busch: All right, what are we going to see you swim at Trials?

Missy Franklin: You know, right now I think it is safe to say freestyles and backstrokes, but there are going to be some doubles in there that we are going to have to work out, but I think the scheduling of the whole meet actually works out really nice, the events that I am swimming and for recovery and things like that so I am getting more excited every single day and I can't believe it is coming up so soon.

Peter Busch: So 100/200 back, 100/200 free, probably?

Missy Franklin: Yeah. Definitely those four for sure, and then we will see what else happens if we are going to throw some of the things in there or not, but anything is possible. It is up in the air so we will see.

Peter Busch: You are probably going to have three relays to swim in London too so let's not overdo it at Trials.

Missy Franklin: I would love to be on relays. There is so much fun there. My favorite part, so that would be an absolutely honor, but I would be happy to just make one relay.

Peter Busch: In 2016, we will say that you know Phelps attempted eight gold medals, how about that?

Missy Franklin: I am not even thinking about 2016, don't you bring that up.

Peter Busch: You do have, you mentioned doubles. I think you have the 100 back shortly after the 200 free semis?

Missy Franklin: I do. That is one of my tougher doubles, and we have actually been working on that a lot in practice because I think I will only have about 15 minutes in between races, so when I am exhausted if we are doing lactate or sprints, Todd will just kind of look over at me like “15 minutes,” and he will just give me that look and I will go, yeah, yeah.

Peter Busch: So what do you do? I am sure a lot of swimmers would be curious. You know, what do you do or what will you do at the meet? As soon as you touch the wall at 200 free is it, boom, I am in the warm down pool, you know tell me how it will work your 15 minutes?

Missy Franklin: Definitely the warming down is the most crucial part. I will get right out of my race and warm down for it as well as I can. I mean as much as I can do because that is the most important part between races is making sure your body has time to recover and time to calm down, and with 15 minutes it doesn't really give you a whole lot of time to do that, but being able to get in the warm down pool for as long as I can and then hopping up and running to my next race — which is something that I love. I love having doubles that are back to back because it is exciting. It gets my adrenaline going and I just. I am so ready to race.

Peter Busch: But what if you break the world record in the 200 free, don't you have to wave to the crowd a little bit? You can't get right out and run into the warm down pool.

Missy Franklin: I am not even thinking about that right now.

Peter Busch: This is what I am here for Missy so you don't have to think about it.

Missy Franklin: You bring up all these ideas. You know what the 200 free competition is going to be super, super competitive and so tough at Trials so just making the team for me would be a feat whether it is relay or individual, but it is going to be really, really tough training for that right now, but for now I am starting to focus on the double and getting surviving in both of those races.

Peter Busch: Todd is watching this right now going, “Peter you are cluttering her mind, stop it.”

Missy Franklin: You are just throwing in all these other things I haven't thought about yet. I am barely even thinking about Trials as it is.

Peter Busch: You got to be ready. They are going to be all over you at Trials and at the Olympics just prepping you for the real world.

Missy Franklin: What would I do without you?

Peter Busch: That is a great question. That is a great question. Hey, aside from prom I saw a really neat local news story about a pep rally they had for you at the school. It was kind of a surprise. It seemed like that was really touching to you.

Missy Franklin: It was unbelievable. It was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. My best friends, the athletic director at Regis and my family all worked so hard to do it. I was so emotional in my speech to them. I could only say a few words because I was tearing up, but just to know that I have this whole school behind me of all my sisters that are supporting me, it means the world to me that no matter what happens when I come back, I am coming back as a senior in high school and I get to enjoy this year and that just takes so much pressure off me for the summer that no matter how I do if I do my best, my school is going to be proud of me. I am going to be proud of myself and I get to come back and enjoy my senior year in high school.

Peter Busch: I noticed you have got some moves on the dance floor there.

Missy Franklin: Oh no, you know, you just got to go with the music. You just got to feel like the worm you know if it is the right time you got to do the worm.

Peter Busch: Oh you win with it all right. You know I am thinking if you and Natalie tie in a 100 back and it is kind of a tie breaker for who gets on the relay you might have to have a dance off because she can handle herself on the dance floor too we all know.

Missy Franklin: Absolutely, I am totally up for a dance off anytime, but against Natalie it might be a little hard, she is way more experienced and she is a lot more graceful than my worm.

Peter Busch: Are you having as much fun now as you were a year ago?

Missy Franklin: Absolutely, if not more. I am enjoying every second of it. Boy's high school season in Colorado just ended so all the boys are going to be coming back to our team this week which I can't wait for. I miss them so much. We have been going down to the OTC a lot. We have been trying a lot of new things really working on things again. It has been a blast. I am loving it, I love working hard. I love pushing myself and I am just getting excited, getting ready for the summer.

Peter Busch: Where do you feel from a confidence factor as a swimmer now as to when you went to Shanghai or when you came back?

Missy Franklin: Well I was really confident going into Shanghai because I had never worked as hard as I did going into it and I honestly probably feel just as confident right now. I have been working harder than I ever have before I even harder than I was last summer and I am extremely confident. I feel great. I am happy. I am enjoying myself and I think that is the most important part and as long as I remember that and go into trials thinking that I am ready, I have done everything I can to be there and be ready and just to relax and have fun and let everything happen as it does then I think I will be happy and everything will work out as it does.

Peter Busch: As if you don't have enough to think about, you know summer recruiting, school recruiting starts here pretty soon. As if it could be a busier summer for you.

Missy Franklin: Definitely, but that is also so exciting. Like college recruiting, I can't believe I am going to college soon. It is just, it is so crazy thinking about my parents and I start crying. I mean talk about it, but just emailing some coaches just getting to know the things that I am interested in for majors and what I want to study and sign and plan my official visits I think it is going to be really exciting and it is also nice, because I don't really have to worry about it all this summer but mainly when I get back I think it is going to all start focusing on it.

Peter Busch: Yeah, are there any schools that could just save themselves a tree and not send you the stack of, you know the stack of mailing?

Missy Franklin: You know what I love getting information from all schools. I love their interests, it is so nice and such an honor for them to be interested in me and I love going through and looking at things because there are so many different schools that I can surprise you with things that you wouldn't know about them so to get that information it is good just to knowing kind of file away.

Peter Busch: All right whose are you opening first?

Missy Franklin: I'm mainly opening the schools with the coaches that I have worked the most with. I have had the opportunity to go on a lot of National team trips with coaches of amazing colleges, so when I get letters from them or emails I love looking at those because I have worked with them and I know their coaching styles.

Peter Busch: Yeah, I would imagine, you know the coaches who make the Olympic team will try and pull you away for a talk from time to time. They are going to be bidding for the seat next to you on the flight to London.

Missy Franklin: You know what, all of those coaches are so professional. They have an amazing staff here for the Olympics and I know that they are all going to be really professional at everything and we are going to have a blast.

Peter Busch: How is Todd doing anyway, speaking of coaches?

Missy Franklin: Todd is great. He is just goofy as ever. He always has these motivational quotes and he has been doing it a lot as child's gets closer so he always has the workout for us and you will notice like little inspirational lines at the bottom like 69 days until trials or make sure you are doing things that count or like what did you do today to make yourself better and we all just kind of laughed and like Todd, but it is awesome he is getting so excited, he is getting so pumped and just having that from your coach it really gets you excited and it is awesome to have someone who I can take that energy from.

Peter Busch: Missy, the next time we talk you will probably have some gold medals around your neck.

Missy Franklin: Oh don't even say that, that is so crazy to think about.

Peter Busch: I am so happy for you. You worked for this and you are a great addition to U.S.A Swimming right now, coming at a perfect time to help out the country, so…

Missy Franklin: I really appreciate that, thank you so much.

Peter Busch: All right good luck in Omaha and good luck hopefully in London.

Missy Franklin: All right, thank you and good luck with everything with you and have fun with your NBC affiliate and anchoring in Florida and everything else that comes with it.

Peter Busch: Thanks Missy.

Missy Franklin: Of course, thanks Peter.

Peter Busch: All right I will talk to you later.

Missy Franklin: Bye.

Peter Busch: That is the very bubbly Missy Franklin joining us in the FINIS Monitor today and that is it for today's show. I am Peter Bush reminding you to keep your head down at the finish.

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