It was the simplicity of the Missy Franklin story that turned her into America's sweetheart four years ago.
She was just a 17-year-old kid worried about typical 17-year-old stuff at a small all-girls Jesuit high school in Denver. She seemingly came out of nowhere to enter our national consciousness at the 2012 London Games as the picture of American power, grace, wholesomeness and athleticism. She broke records and won four gold medals. She was a natural. She was an instant star.
And now, blink, here she is four years later, her narrative ready to pick up in Rio where it left off in London.