Missy Franklin is getting lots of attention in London and it has nothing to do with her historic medal haul at the Aquatics Centre. Well, it has something to do with it.
The 17-year-old rising high school senior told NBC on Monday that her size 13 feet have been drawing attention from athletes around the Olympics. Host Michele Beadle joked that she’d put a stop to those having fun at the expense of Missy’s trotters, but Missy, in her typical bubbly demeanor, said she doesn’t mind. In fact, she’s proud of her big feet.
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And why wouldn’t she be? Those feet helped her win four gold medals in London and played a part in her becoming America’s Olympic sweetheart. Her dad says they’re Missy’s “built-in flippers.”
Sometimes you see young female athletes with abnormal size become uncomfortable in their bodies. Missy has none of that. Given how gracefully she moves in and out of the pool with her 6-foot-1 frame (remember that “Call Me Maybe” clip?), it’s no wonder.
“I think it’s helped me so much,” she told ThePostGame last year. “God has blessed me with an excellent swimmer’s body.”
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