RIO DE JANEIRO _ Missy Franklin pledged to return "stronger than ever before" a day after her Olympics came to an abrupt and disappointing end.
In a message to more than 200,000 followers on Facebook, Franklin seemed baffled by the long-running struggles that kept her from advancing to the finals of the 200-meter freestyle or 200-meter backstroke at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
"I understand so very little about this past week, about how many sacrifices and endless hours of hard work would leave me so far behind where I thought I was capable of being," the 21-year-old wrote. "But understanding will not bring me peace. People knowing that I did everything I possibly could have done, that something beautiful will come out of this and that I will come back stronger than ever before."
A breakout star at the London Olympics with four gold medals and an ever-present smile, Franklin's good humor remained at these Games, but her performance in the pool wasn't the same.
She won a gold medal for swimming in the preliminary heat for the 800-meter freestyle relay, but was dropped from the team for the final and faded in the semifinals of both her individual events.
In the 200 backstroke, Franklin's signature event, her semifinal time was about six seconds slower than the world record she set in 2012.
The reasons for the slower swims _ she hasn't recorded a best time since 2014 _ aren't clear. Franklin insisted she's healthy and in the best shape of her career. After her final race Thursday, she called the last week the most difficult of her life and expressed relief it was over.
"I felt a little bit like David facing Goliath, but I felt like I didn't have any stones in my pocket," Franklin told reporters.
