Missy Franklin: Olympic gold for Jesuit school student

US swimmer Missy Franklin poses with her gold medal after winning the women’s 100-metre backstroke final at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on July 30. Franklin is a senior at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado.

Franklin has said her experience at Regis led her to consider converting to Catholicism. The Protestant swimmer said the Regis service projects and retreats have deepened her spirituality.

“Going into Regis Jesuit, my faith was not a very big aspect of my life,” she told the Catholic Register, newspaper of the archdiocese of Denver, before going to the Olympics. “Taking my first theology classes, going to my first Masses, going on my first retreats, I began to realise how important God is in my life and how much I love him and need him. My relationship with God grew so much within my first three years at Regis Jesuit and I am very happy with him right now, although there is a lot of more work to do.”

Apart from her gold medal, she has also won  a bronze for the US in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay. (CNS photo/David Gray, Reuters)

Since we published this article, Franklin has added gold medals in the 200m backstrike, setting a new world record, and the 4x200m freestyle relay.