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'Missile' Missy bang on London target
If Olympic success comes as naturally to Missy Franklin as exuberance and enthusiasm, then she has a swimming future so golden one almost needs sunglasses to contemplate it.
If Olympic success comes as naturally to Missy Franklin as exuberance and enthusiasm, then she has a swimming future so golden one almost needs sunglasses to contemplate it.
The 17-year-old American's first gold of the London Games on Monday, in the 100 metres backstroke, may have been widely predicted but the taste of victory still exceeded all her expectations. It was more than awesome, a devalued word that barely captures the scale of it. It was something she had waited all her 17 years to achieve.
It was a "hundred billion" times better than she ever thought it could be. Truth be told, Franklin's achievement was amazing by any measurement. Monday's final was not just her second race of the day but the second in the space of 13 minutes, and against rested opponents.
Franklin, winner of five medals at the last world championships in Shanghai including three golds, has entered seven events in London in a bid to become the first female swimmer to win more than six golds at a single Games.
A new Agnel
Yannick Agnel, whose stunning anchor leg swim provided France with a shock victory in the 4x100 freestyle relay on Sunday, outsprinted some of the biggest names in swimming to capture his second gold medal in 24 hours. The Frenchman led all the way to win the individual 200m freestyle gold in 1:43.14.
