(Can we get a “heck yes” to the fact that Rio is hosting the highest number of female Olympic athletes ever?) But apparently women still need to prove themselves and their talents, even after they score medals.
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Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden took the silver medal while Emma McKeon of Australia won bronze.
At the 2012 Olympics, Franklin won gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke, including a world record in the latter.
But as the 2016 Summer Olympics have commenced in Rio, USC may have very well found its next Olympic standout in 27-year-old Katinka Hosszu.
After winning her opening heat in the 400m IM, Hosszu set the stage for what would be a historic performance in the final. There’s 19-year-old Katie Ledecky who blew everyone’s mind Sunday night when she shattered the 400-meter freestyle world record; Uzebekistan’s 41-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina schooling competitors 25 years her junior; Serena Williams bringing her signature slaying abilities to the tennis court; 19-year-old USA gymnastics star Simone Biles exceeding her mythic hype.
Hosszu almost clipped the 400m IM world record in the preliminary heat, finishing 0.15 seconds off the mark.
It was a second gold in Rio for Hosszu, the self-styled “Iron Lady” of swimming, after her world record-breaking victory in the 400 individual medley on Saturday.
Prior to these Games, she competed in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
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She won five NCAA Titles and was a 20-time All-American as a member of the Women’s Swimming team at USC. She is not swimming in the 100m backstroke this year, however, and failed to qualify for the 200m freestyle final Monday night. Hosszu’s husband and coach is a vital part of her story as an Olympian, the AP reported Hicks’ as having said, and that Hosszu herself has credited her husband for her success.
