Every time Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin walked through a doorway, she used to give herself an affirmation.
“Sometimes you have to think about what you can tell yourself that’s positive and will build confidence and self-love,” the five-time gold medal winner told Cheddar Thursday.
That was one of the ways she coped with the stresses of competitive swimming and its impact on her mental health. She picked up the technique from the greatest Olympic swimmer ever, Michael Phelps.
Franklin said the only reason she could open up about her battle with depression was because she had “such an incredible stage set before me by people like Michael and…[fellow Olympic swimmer] Allison Schmitt.”
“For me, once I felt like I was really ready to kind of come out and talk about it, it was actually fairly easy knowing I had the support of so many people,” she said. “This is something that so many of us experience, and yet it’s still taboo.”
Franklin said her bouts of depression stem from her successes. She was just 17 years old when she won four gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics. She snagged her fifth in Rio four years later.
“A lot of it came from placing my identity in my success in a pool.”
Having lived through it, she now wants to reach out to younger athletes to help them recognize that, “You are not a best time, you are not a medal...you are so much more than that.”
The Olympian is already in training mode for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, which entails swimming for up to four hours a day.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-advice-michael-phelps-gave-missy-franklin-on-keeping-her-head-in-the-game).
LeBron James will serve his first-ever NBA suspension tonight against the New York Knicks after getting into an on-court squabble with Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. Stewart will also serve a two-game suspension for escalating the fight.
Jill and Carlo are a bit delayed today on account of Carlo's internet not working. Better late than never, they discuss what we know about the suspect in the Christmas parade crash, closing arguments in the Arbery killing trial, and more.
Special Olympics and WWE are announcing a three-year partnership extension of their global partnership to help create inclusion through sports. Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics and WWE superstar and Special Olympics Global Ambassador, Drew McIntyre join Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and his daughter/business partner Jaqui Rice Gold joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about their energy drink G.O.A.T. Fuel. The pair talked about launching the brand during the height of the pandemic and what makes it different from competing brands. "The thing that separates us from the other energy drinks is we have cordyceps mushrooms in the drink," he said. "You're not going to have the jitters or anything like that." The duo also discussed the Los Angeles Lakers making it the official energy drink of its organization and what that means for the growth of the brand.
Jill and Carlo cover the developing story out of suburban Milwaukee, where a speeding SUV careened through a Christmas parade. Looters get more brazen in San Francisco, the missing Chinese tennis star resurfaces, and more.
Alternative asset, sports cards-focused platform Alt recently raised $75 million in a Series B round. Alt's platform lets users research, trade, and securely store sports cards and other high-value assets. Right now, the company has more than $70 million worth of cards in its vault. The company is also hoping to get into other assets, including NFTs. Alt CEO Leore Avidar joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Ameeth Sankaran, CEO of the emmy-winning media company Religion of Sports, joined Cheddar to talk about the "Man in the Arena: Tom Brady" docuseries that premiered on ESPN+ earlier this week. Sankaran noted Brady and former NFL star Michael Strahan as co-founders and discussed the origin of the company and its goal to tell stories about sports figures beyond their roles on the court or field.
A former live-in-chef for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has claimed the NFL star lied about his COVID vaccination status and obtained a fake proof of vaccination card. Brown and the Bucs have since come out denying the claims.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
JOIN US FOR THE YOUTUBE WATCH PARTY @ 9aET: http://www.youtube.com/cheddarnow
Ben Stinar, NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation, joins Cheddar Bets to provide some one-month-in overreactions and underreactions to some of the NBA betting lines.
Sponsored by BetMGM
