Olympic greats cheer for Oleksiak
Swimmer has talented fans
Welcome to the TOKYO six-medal club.
But don't stop now. Swimming powerhouse Penny Oleksiak already made history in the pool at Tokyo 2020 early in the week, picking up a pair of shiny souvenirs to boost her career total to a half-dozen to join Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen as the most decorated Canadian Olympians of all time.
While the speedskating legends don't mind sharing their perch with Oleksiak, they would prefer it be brief.
“I hope she smashes that record,” Klassen said.
Hughes agrees wholeheartedly. She is on a backcountry trip and wasn't available for an interview but when she managed to find a bar of cell service, she was anxious to pass along this message.
“I want everyone to know I'm stoked and hope she breaks this record if she already has not!”
Oleksiak & Co. just barely missed the podium during Thursday's 4x200-metre freestyle relay, finishing fourth.
That crew — including Summer McIntosh, Rebecca Smith and Kayla Sanchez — set a Canadian record with a time of 7:43.77.
Just how fast was this
race? The Australians bettered the previous world record and settled for third.
Oleksiak finished fourth early Friday in the 100-metre freestyle, the event that produced her golden moment in Rio in 2016. However, she still has one more opportunity to add to her medal haul in Tokyo with the 4x100m medley relay.
“It's really exciting seeing her in the pool. You get on the edge of your seat,” Klassen said of Oleksiak. “You just root for her and you're just so excited to see what she can do next.”
This talented Torontonian burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in Rio, bringing four medals back from Brazil. Still only 21, she anchored Canada's 4x100 freestyle relay to silver for Canada's first medal in Tokyo, then claimed another keepsake when she battled back for bronze in the 200.
Klassen, now a police officer and mom, choked back tears when asked what a stash of medals will mean to Oleksiak once her competitive career is done.
“I don't think it's just going to be about the medals. It's all of the experiences and the memories that she's had, and it's going to be those friendships and relationships that she has built through sport that are going to be with her 20, 30, 40 years down the road. That's what is so important.”