LONDON - The face of the 2012 London Olympics belongs to a wide-eyed, wider-smiling, 17-year-old Nebraska girl.
Missy Franklin put her face on these Games, at least for Americans, with a breathtaking display of youthful enthusiasm and ageless athleticism Monday night. By the time she's done here, she could have seven medals.
Not bad for the summer between her junior and senior years of high school.
Coming into London, Ryan Lochte or gymnast Jordyn Wieber figured to be the American face of these Olympics - judging by magazine covers, at least. But Lochte finished fourth in the 200-meter freestyle Monday, officially rendering his "my year" boast hollow, and Wieber failed to qualify for the star-making all-around final.
So here comes Franklin, in the wake of Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin - the faces of Beijing.
All she did was qualify for the 200-meter final with a solid semifinal performance and then - less than 15 minutes later - jump back in the pool for the 100-meter backstroke final. For most swimmers, that would be difficult, bordering on impossible.
"They're fun for me," Franklin said. "I love getting out there and swimming and getting those nerves out of the way and then coming right back and swimming again. It's so exciting for me. I have so much fun with it. It makes the experience easier to take in, I guess. I know I'm not going to have these many opportunities. I love it."
After the 200 semifinal, Franklin took a few steps and jumped into the diving well for an abbreviated postrace warm-down session. It was a nifty bit of strategy, allowing her to maintain a normal routine even as she was preparing for the most important race of her young life, the 100 backstroke, which she won.
Phelps competed in eight events in Beijing, one more than Franklin here. The shortest break between swims he faced was more like 30 minutes. That was tough enough.
"Michael came up to me in the [regular] warm-down pool," Franklin said. "He was so awesome. He gave me a huge high five and said, 'I can't believe you just did that.' He told me the most he had was 30, and it was so awesome and he had a big smile on his face. To have that coming from such a big role model of mine meant the world to me."
Franklin was shaken by the movie-theater shootings July 20 near her hometown of Centennial, Colo.
It's really sweet, the way her teammates have taken Franklin under their immense wingspans. Phelps told her to call, text, or e-mail if she had any questions about handling the physical and mental challenges of competing in so many events. Franklin credited Natalie Coughlin and others with giving her advice and helping her through her first Olympics.
It surely won't be her last.
As impressive as Franklin is in the water, she's remarkably refreshing out of it. She came into these Games with great promise, but with none of the slick, prepackaged image that is now commonplace. Almost every one of these elite athletes is a brand, as well. The pressure of competing is multiplied by the pressure to reward their corporate sponsors, who tag promising young athletes the way graffiti artists tag subway cars.
Franklin wants to swim when she goes to college, which means honoring NCAA regulations that prohibit corporate sponsor and professional appearance fees. While most athletes here see a gold medal as a winning lottery ticket, Franklin so far has chosen to remain an unpaid amateur.
Her phone will be ringing. Aside from what she is accomplishing in the pool, Franklin has the all-American looks and sunny disposition that are a winning combination for endorsements. She's a natural.
Watch her on the medal stand, every emotion dancing in her moist eyes as the national anthem played.
"I was trying to sing," Franklin said. "But I was, like, crying at the same time and I forgot the words because I didn't know what I was doing. I was just a huge mess. But seeing that flag being raised was so incredibly unbelievable. I could have never dreamed it would feel like that."
Franklin came out first for the postrace news conference, usually attended by all three medalists. She leaned over to the moderator and said, "I don't like being up here alone." Then she thoroughly charmed everyone in the room.
"It's definitely going to be hard with everything that's coming up," Franklin said of the barrage of offers she no doubt will receive. "But I'm not thinking about that right now. I'm waiting for the end of the meet, but we'll see what happens. Swimming collegiately is something I've always wanted to do. I have a passion for it."
Franklin earned a bronze medal swimming the first leg of the 4x100 freestyle relay Sunday. She has a shot at her third medal, and second gold, in Tuesday night's 200 freestyle. By the time the week is over, these Olympics could be hers.
Scratch that. They already are.
Contact Phil Sheridan at 215-854-2844 or psheridan@phillynews.com. Follow @Sheridanscribe on Twitter. Read his blog, "Philabuster," at www.philly.com/philabuster. Read his columns at www.philly.com/philsheridan
