Franklin says her desire to keep improving is one of the biggest factors that has allowed her to stay at the top of her game for so long, but she admits success in the sport does not come without sacrifice.
“In those years that shape you, 12 and 13, when kids are having parties, I wasn’t always invited because I wasn’t really that social and I didn’t go round people’s houses after school because I was always training or away at the weekends – those were probably the biggest sacrifices when I was young.
“As you get older it’s more of a physical sacrifice because you put your body through a lot and there is the mental toll too, you have depressed and elated periods, all those emotions can be a strain.
“Maybe if I had gone and had a more normal life I wouldn’t have had that amount of stress. But I’ve grown a lot and I’m much stronger because of it.”
Franklin’s haul of medals hang proudly on the wall in her living room as a constant reminder of her years of achievement and success in the sport. Only her Olympic silver medal is tucked away in a box somewhere safe.
She has thought about when she might retire. But it will not be before she completes her main goal, which she is still hungry to achieve before she calls time on her outstanding career.
“My biological clock is probably what will dictate my finish line in this sport. I want to have kids and I don’t want to leave that too long.
“But my overall goal is to be world number one. To be the best over a long period of time and over a set of races. I want to be the person who turns up to a race and is always expected to do well.”