First she didn’t realize it. Then she couldn’t believe it.
Regis Jesuit swimming phenom Missy Franklin was “exhausted” at a World Cup meet in Berlin on Saturday, the third of four days competing in Europe, so it took a while for her to comprehend setting a short-course world record in the 200-meter backstroke.
“I had no idea,” Franklin said Tuesday. “I think I heard it before I saw it, and then I saw the little WR next to my time and I slowly pieced everything together. I was crying. Oh my goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever been more surprised in my entire life. I was in shock.”
Franklin competed in World Cup races in Moscow last Tuesday and Wednesday, traveled to Berlin and swam there Saturday and Sunday. She medaled in every event, taking seven gold, one silver and one bronze. She returned to Denver on Monday night and goes back to school today at Regis Jesuit.
In July, Franklin won five world championships medals (three gold, one silver, one bronze) in Shanghai. What happened Saturday was a bigger surprise for her, though.
“At worlds I felt amazing,” said Franklin, 16. “I felt so in shape and just so confident. But going into that race (Saturday), I was so tired. I was exhausted, but I was just telling myself I just had the 200 back, ‘so just go out there and have fun and then you’ll be done for the night.’ I seriously could not have been more shocked. I thought the scoreboard was wrong.”
Franklin’s time was 2 minutes, 0.03 seconds, which was 0.15 seconds faster than the old mark set by Shiho Sakai of Japan in 2009.
“I cried a lot,” Franklin said. “Then we went back to the hotel, and it was actually really sweet. The boys that were on the team with me got me flowers, wrote me a note, and they had it outside my room, which was really sweet. It made me feel really happy and made me realize how lucky I was to be on such a great team.”
Franklin competes next in a Grand Prix meet in Minneapolis Nov. 11-13, with national championships coming Dec. 1-3 in Atlanta.
It may take that long for her to explain how it feels to be a world-record holder. She still hasn’t figured it out.
“I don’t know,” she said, “I’ll let you know when I can feel anything.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
