Four-time London gold medal swimmer Missy Franklin has decided to swim her senior season at Regis Jesuit in Aurora, Colo. rather than sit out to be “fair” to her fellow high school competitors.
“There were a lot of concerns on her part in terms of what it meant and how other people were feeling about her competing or not competing,” Missy’s father, Dick, told USA Today. “She didn’t want to upset anybody and she wanted to do the right thing.”
Missy was initially worried about whether it would be right to take the spotlight off her teammates and competitors, and earlier this month said, “If I had anyone who swims high school come up to me and tell me they don’t want me to swim, I would absolutely not swim.”
But after talking to the Regis swim coach and athletic director Missy will finish her high school career.
“I’m so excited to be swimming some high school meets with my sisters at Regis Jesuit,” Missy told Swimming World. “It will be so much fun to finish my Colorado swimming [years] with these wonderful friends and teammates. It’s one of the perfect ways to end my four years at Regis.”
Franklin won’t be joining the team at Thursday’s meet, however. She’ll be busy competing at the USA Swimming Nationals in Austin and will likely only join her Raiders teammates for three meets: one dual meet, and then regionals and state, where she’ll look to break her own national high school records.