Allison Schmitt: U.S. Swimmer Will Win First Gold in 200-Meter Freestyle

Early headlines from the women’s swimming events at the 2012 London Olympics belong to Missy Franklin, the teenager who won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke less than a half-hour after qualifying for the 200-meter freestyle finals.

However, Franklin’s second gold medal will have to wait.

While Franklin has already won a gold medal, another U.S. women’s swimmer will be looking for her first ever gold when she hits the water in the 200m freestyle finals.

U.S. swimmer Allison Schmitt has already won a silver and bronze medal at this year’s Olympic Games and, after finishing with the second-fastest qualifying time for the 200m freestyle finals, Schmitt is about to win her first ever Olympic gold medal.

Schmitt’s silver and bronze medals this year raise her career Olympic medal count, after she took home both silver and bronze medals during the 2008 Olympics.

However, neither set of Olympic Games, as of yet, have seen her take home a gold.

The 22-year-old won silver at this year’s Games after finishing second in the 400-meter freestyle, and she won a bronze with Franklin in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.

But with the second-fastest qualifying time for the 200m freestyle, Schmitt is on the verge of capturing the gold that has eluded her in the past two Olympics.

An article by Beth Harris on NBCOlympics.com contains a quote from Schmitt, as she gears up to take on Franklin, Federica Pellegrini and Barratt Bronte in the finals.

“It definitely feels like I’m ready to swim,” Schmitt said.  “I’ve been preparing for this meet all year.  It’s been fun so far and I’m looking forward to having more fun tonight.”

Schmitt’s success at this year’s Games could have a little something to do with her training partner.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials this year, Schmitt won the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:54.40. 

Her training partner, Michael Phelps, shared his opinion of the Georgia Bulldog swimmer in an article by Nicole Auerbach on USAToday.com.

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“She’s awesome,” Phelps said after he won the men’s 200-meter butterfly Thursday.  “I love being around her.  She always makes you smile.  Very outgoing person, very hard worker.

“I’ve been able to see her transform into the person she is today as a swimmer and as a person...She’s not afraid of anything, and it’s showing.”

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Schmitt has already shown great improvement from her performance at the 2008 Olympic Games.  After taking second in the 200m freestyle at the 2008 Olympic Trials, Schmitt went on to finish ninth at the Olympic Games.

However, since then, Schmitt has won two silver medals at the 2009 World Championships, two gold medals at the 2010 Pan-Pacs and gold at the 2011 World Championships.

Schmitt’s recent success has carried her to a spot in the 200m freestyle final, where she can go from finishing out of medal contention in 2008 to taking gold in 2012.

The five-time NCAA individual champ has been overshadowed by Franklin’s performances at the Games so far, but the U.S. will soon have another women’s swimmer with an individual gold medal.

With Franklin already having won a gold medal, the U.S. women’s swimming team has two young swimmers who have already proved that they are among the best in the world.

But a gold medal for Schmitt in the 200m freestyle would make the usual smile that she bears even bigger.