Missy Franklin -- the Olympic prodigy who won 4 gold medals as a 17-year-old in the London Games -- has announced she's putting an end to her swimming career at just 23 years old.
The first American woman ever to earn 4 golds in one Olympics in any sport announced in a statement on ESPN on Wednesday that shoulder injuries are putting an end to her career.
"It took me a long time to say the words, 'I am retiring,'" Franklin wrote ... "A long, long time. But now I'm ready.