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Missy Franklin Gives Birth To Daughter Sarah Caitlin
by TeamUSA
Missy Franklin poses prior to the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards on Feb. 16, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
Talk about good timing.
Six-time Olympic medalist swimmer Missy Franklin Johnson became a mother on Wednesday, with daughter Sarah Caitlin waiting just long enough to let mom finish watching the Tokyo Olympics.
Named for a “special person” in dad Hayes Johnson’s family, Sarah Caitlin also shares a birthday with Missy’s dad, Dick Franklin.
“This little girl already knows how to pull all of our heart strings,” Franklin wrote in an Instagram announcement. “She’s more perfect than anything we could have ever imagined. We love you so much Caitlin💕.”
A hotshot young swimmer, Missy Franklin rose to fame in the early 2010s when she won three world titles and four Olympic gold medals before her 18th birthday. Her four gold medals at the London Games in 2012 were the most by any American woman in a single Olympics, and she also added a bronze medal there for good measure.
As much as she was admired for her swimming success, the Colorado native also became a fan favorite for her outgoing personality. She was a driving force behind the U.S. swim team’s “Call Me Maybe” video that went viral that summer of 2012.
Franklin went on to win eight more world titles, as well as another Olympic gold medal in 2016 in Rio. She also won multiple NCAA titles while competing for Cal. However, she struggled with chronic injuries later in her career, and in December 2018 formally announced her retirement.
Franklin and Johnson, a former college swimmer who competed at two U.S. Olympic Team Trials, married in September 2019.
Now 26, Franklin remains involved in the sport as an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation and the Saving Lives is Always in Season campaign, which aims to raise awareness of water safety and the importance of swimming lessons for children.
At the start of the Olympics last month, Franklin shared some memories of her two Olympic experiences and said she was ready to cheer on Team USA in Tokyo. The good news for the young family is that, with some late nights no doubt on the horizon, Sarah Caitlin arrived just in time for the Tokyo Paralympics to begin on Aug. 24.
Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic Movement for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.