Missy Franklin has been a world-beater in swimming pools around the world, but she got to discover the world below the waves in a feature film to air on NBC this weekend.
In , Franklin is shown swimming with dolphins near Bimini with paralympic gold medalist Mallory Weggemann. The film will air 7 p.m. Saturday on KUSA-9.
“It felt like you were part of their world,” Franklin says in one scene. “Just swimming with the dolphins, going up and down and seeing them talk to each other, you felt like you were a dolphin. It was so cool.”
The film takes disabled athletes on diving trips to Bimini, Cozumel and Hawaii. Other athletes include:
• Anthony Robles, an NCAA Division I wrestling champion despite having been born with one leg.
• Grant Korgan, who reached the South Pole by arm propulsion after being paralyzed from the waist down in a snowmobiling accident.
• Bethany Hamilton, the “Soul Surfer” who lost an arm in a shark attack in Hawaii.
• Jesse Murphree, a veteran who lost both legs in Afghanistan.
• David Husick, who was paralyzed playing college rugby.
“The Current” takes a submarine approach to a concept Miller previously visited in “The Movement,” which took disabled athletes to snow slopes. His “Make a Hero” nonprofit uses the films to inspire disabled athletes to pursue adaptive sports. He is the son of ski filmmaker Warren Miller and lives in Niwot.
John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnmeyer
