PARIS — La Defense Arena, the site of Penny Oleksiak’s third Olympics, is more than 9,000 kilometres from Rio de Janeiro, the site of her first. So, it’s no surprise that the distance Penny Oleksiak traveled in the past eight years – both physically and mentally — has been an exhausting, yet exhilarating ride.
From the moment she won her first Olympic medal in her first race on this the grandest of stages, to the six that would follow in the remainder of the Brazilian Games and then on to Tokyo, Oleksiak has ridden far more than the waves of the pools she so powerfully navigates.
The journey — through struggle, occasional indifference to the sport, injury and surgery — has landed her here at a third Olympics, albeit, just barely. But even with the competitive engine that has made her Canada’s most decorated Olympian, there was almost a just-happy-to-be-here vibe with Oleksiak on Saturday morning as she helped the 4x100m freestyle relay qualify for Saturday evening’s final.
“For me honestly, the most fun has been seeing the other girl’s reactions to it,” Oleksiak told Postmedia not long after finishing second in her leg. “Honestly, I’m trying to take a back seat to [being a mentor to younger swimmers]. We’ve got a lot of incredibly experienced athletes on this team, whether that’s male or female. I want to help where I can, but at the same time with swimming I feel like we’re really used to our individual processes.”
There are no batons in relay swimming, but figuratively, Oleksiak sounded like she’s ready to hand her status as the great Canadian medal hope — and the onerous demands that go with it — over to 17-year-old Summer McIntosh. In fact, there was bemusement in Oleksiak’s voice when she described her would-be successor’s reaction to the electric atmosphere here during the heats, a cascading surge of sound welcome to so many after the fan-free quiet of Tokyo.
“Summer came out of her 400 free [heat] saying she was kind of nervous going up there and I was like, I forget it was her first true Olympic experience,” Oleksiak said. “It’s just more fun for me to watch everyone else’s reaction to the atmosphere’s because they didn’t get that experience in 2020 [when Covid kept fans out]. But I think it’s really still exciting for me to be here.”
There are all sorts of differences this time. She will not compete in an individual event here, though she could get some more relay work. She chuckled at the notion of swimming the first leg in Saturday’s heats, given that her killer kick made her the natural to finish Canadian relays in the past rather than start.
As well, there are minimal expectations for the now 24-year-old, who has battled injury and uneven performances since Tokyo. Despite having knee surgery in November, she just narrowly missed qualifying in her signature 100-metre freestyle event at the Canadian Trials in May.
“I haven’t really raced like this in a couple of years,” Oleksiak said. “For me to be my first really big meet back is pretty insane. I definitely feel stronger. I’ve been in Europe the last month and a half just training and getting some good work in.”
Helping that process has been an intense final six weeks of training here in Europe with coach Greg Arkhurst, who oversees the Canadian women’s relay teams. Making up for lost time, the two feel progress was made, enough to help set Oleksiak up for an opportunity to add to her Canadian record medal haul.
“I have been working with Penny the last six weeks and there are no issues with her,” Arkhurst said. “She works very well. I love her mindset. She’s very focused. To me, she’s looking good and now it’s not in my control. It’s just step up on the block and see what she’s going to bring.”
Historically, Oleksiak has proven to bring her best when the five rings decorate the pool. He is a competitor through and through, a pedigree her latest coach hopes to dust off here in France.
“She’s a champion,” Arkhurst said. “She’s 100 per cent a racer. She loves to race. What we try to do in practice is bringing that a little bit more in workouts. Honestly, I’ve been very surprised. I was very, very happy to work with her. I hope my work will help her just a little bit.”
The list of Oleksiak accolades are long, and in context of the surging Canadian swimming program, best not be forgotten. She was an inspiration to many of the up and coming stars, including McIntosh and her successes started the tidal wave of success for the team.
“The Olympics, it’s still pretty cool,” said Oleksiak, who has hinted at returning for a fourth Olympics in LA in 2028. “I feel a lot stronger and a lot more confident going in. I’m excited to see what will happen.”