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The Promise Of A Penny: Canadian Oleksiak Destined For A Rich & Rewarding Career
- Updated: October 31, 2016
The list of candidates is a short one, limited to just a few names. Elaine Tanner is certainly an option, along with Nancy Garapick. Both were among the best of their eras, Tanner excelling in the latter half of the 1960s, with Garapick enjoying her best days during the back end of the 1970s. Combined, they own five Olympic medals.
But, with all due respect to the achievements of Tanner and Garapick, the following questions are worth asking with the newest quadrennial in its infancy stages. Is the greatest female swimmer in Canadian history still active? Is she a mere 16-year-old at the beginning of her career? Is she just tapping into a vastness of potential? What type of excellence does the future hold?
The storyline at play at the top of North America is not unlike what the sport has frequently seen through the years: A teenage phenom, not entirely known on a global basis, rockets to stardom on the biggest stage that exists. Before the most-recent Olympiad, Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte and American Katie Ledecky followed the blueprint, each capturing gold medals at the 2012 Games in London.
By the time the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro had wrapped, eight exquisite days to remember, Penny Oleksiak had four medals pocketed, including a shared title in the 100 freestyle. She was a national sporting hero, to the point of being tabbed as the Canadian flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony. More, she had made an argument to be regarded – despite limited exposure – as the best performer Canada has produced on the female side.
Hello World: A Rio Coming Out Party
During the days leading up to the start of the 31st Olympiad, it’s not as if Oleksiak was a complete unknown. Dedicated followers of the sport knew of her exploits at the Canadian Trials, including a World Junior Record in the 100 freestyle. They were also aware of her six medals from the previous year’s World Junior Championships, a haul that included three silver medals in individual events.
Still, a major gap must be narrowed between standout performances on the junior and national levels and making an impact at a competition that, every four years, brings out the best the water world has to offer. As a 16-year-old, would Oleksiak find herself rattled by the atmosphere, a pressurized setting that can take down seasoned veterans. Could Oleksiak drop the necessary time to be a factor against the best of the best?
Oh yeah.
It didn’t take long for Oleksiak to activate the warning sirens of what she was ready to unload in Rio. As Canada secured a surprise bronze medal in the 400 freestyle relay on the opening day of action, Oleksiak dropped a 52.72 anchor split to place her country on the podium. That day was also highlighted by a World Junior Record in the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly.
A night later, she was on the podium again, this time a 56.46 showing in the 100 butterfly supplying another WJR and a silver medal behind Sarah Sjostrom, the Swede untouchable (for now) with a world record of 55.48. Also on the podium was 2012 Olympic champ and former world-record holder Dana Vollmer, meaning Oleksiak was in some fine company, and living a dream.
“I had them (her medals) on my bedside table,” Oleksiak said of her first pieces of Olympic hardware. “But I couldn’t fall asleep, so I slept with them both. It just helped me to fall asleep to hold them.”
Had Oleksiak’s meet come to an end at that point, she would have been more than satisfied with the result. After all, just months earlier, the goal was simply landing an Olympic berth. That quickly, she was vying for medals and rapidly climbing the Totem Pole of Canadian …
