AFP, United States :
Missy Franklin missed out on a chance to defend her 100m backstroke Olympic title in Rio with a disappointing seventh-place finish on Tuesday at the US swimming trials.
The 21-year-old who nabbed four golds in 2012 had a mountain to climb after posting just the seventh-fastest time of Monday’s semi-finals, and couldn’t produce a miracle from lane one.
Olivia Smoliga earned a first Olympic berth with a victory in 59.02sec instead, with Kathleen Baker securing her spot with a runner-up finish in 59.29.
Franklin’s 1:00.24 put her 1.22sec behind the winner.
Less than half an hour earlier, Franklin had eased into the final of the 200m freestyle with the fourth-fastest time in the semi-finals, which were topped by Katie Ledecky.
