Olympian Allison Schmitt returns to Canton to inspire students

With her sights set on competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil, Allison Schmitt is often away from her hometown of Canton, Mich.

Schmitt has won six Olympic medals for swimming.  During the 2012 Olympic Games she won gold in the 800m free relay, gold in the 400m medley relay and gold in the 200m free.  She won silver in the 400m free and bronze in the 400m free relay. In the Summer Games in Beijing in 2008, she won bronze in the 800m free relay.

During a recent visit home, Schmitt paid a visit to her former school, Canton Charter Academy.  It was her first time in the school since graduating in 2004.

"It's great to come back to the stomping grounds and where I grew up and where I really felt that I grew as a person," Schmitt said. "I know that middle school is a very important part of that and so it's great to come back to see the kids that i was once in their shoes."

Schmitt spoke to classes and took questions from students.

"It's really cool to see how their goals and how big their goals are, so I hope that I can inspire them to pursue those dreams and continue after those goals and I'm excited to see our future, I think our future is in great hands," Schmitt said.

She talked to the students about working hard and overcoming obstacles to achieve goals.   Schmitt, a two-time Olympian, is now focused on getting to a third Olympic games.

"I'm currently training in Baltimore under Bob Bowman still," said Schmitt.  "It's been a fun journey.  It's been a lot of years, but it's definitely fun and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Bowman is a former University of Michigan coach who has also coached Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian with 22 medals, 18 of which are gold.

Schmitt was part of the first graduating eighth-grade class at Canton Charter Academy and is considered one of the school's most inspiring alumni.

After talking to students at Canton Charter Academy, Schmitt visited Achieve Charter Academy.  Both are schools serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade.