Olympic Swimmer Missy Franklin Releases Book on 'Raising a Champion' in 'Relentless Spirit'
Even though Missy Franklin suffered a major disappointment when she failed to qualify for final individual swimming events at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she overcame the setback and never lost confidence in her abilities.
After winning four gold medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, the 21-year-old swimmer failed to qualify for the same final individual events at the 2016 Olympic Games. In her new book, Relentless Spirit: The Unconventional Raising of a Champion, released on Dec. 6, Franklin writes about the grace she felt even in the midst of her distress.
"To put in all that work to make it to these Olympics, to qualify by the grace of God in three events, and to fall short of the finals in all three," Franklin recalls in an excerpt of her book featured in Motto. "But 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."
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Franklin made history at the 2012 Olympic Games when she became the first female to qualify for seven Olympic events. After her disappointing performance in 2016, Franklin revealed that she worked to heal from those painful emotions and is now looking to find a renewed joy in the sport that changed her life.
"One of the first things I did after my disappointing showing at trials was to make an appointment to heal," Franklin wrote in an excerpt of her book.
"I started thinking about what it means for me to feel at home, to be at peace with myself. I'm determined to rediscover the joy of swimming that helped me to win all those medals in London, putting up times that still stand as world records, Olympic records. I don't feel that joy right now, but I know it's in me. I need only to tap back into it, embrace it, make it once again my own."
In her new book, Franklin and her parents, D.A. and Dick Franklin who are co-authors, outline how faith and family helped shape the Olympic gold medalist as a woman and world class swimmer.
"The story that Missy, and her parents, share inside is both inspiring and heartwarming, explaining how she became both a legendary athlete and a happy and confident woman, something they accomplished by doing things their own way and making the right choices for their family, which includes Missy's faith journey, something she writes about with inspirational candor," a description of the book on Amazon reads.
"Including the highs, the tough moments, and everything in-between, Relentless Spirit tells the story of a woman — and a family — full of love, heart, faith, and resilience."
