Penny Oleksiak is a Canadian swimmer who is Canada’s most decorated Summer Olympian. Her bronze medal in the women’s 200-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics tied her with Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen as Canada’s most decorated Olympians. If she defends her Olympic gold or wins a medal in the 100-meter freestyle, she will return to Toronto as Canada’s top Olympian.
Oleksiak made history at the Rio Olympics by becoming the first athlete born in the 2000s to win gold in an individual event. She also broke several Canadian records, including becoming the country’s youngest first Olympic champion.
Penny’s father introduced her to swimming when she was 9 years old.
Scott Russell/CBC
Penny Oleksiak was born on June 13, 2000 in Toronto, Canada, the daughter of Alison and Richard Oleksiak. Richard is a writer and Alison is a systems engineer.
He introduced Penny to swimming when she was nine years old, having tried gymnastics, competitive dancing, and a host of other sports. Three swimming clubs turned Penny away because she was not an expert swimmer at the time.
However, coach Gary Nolden of the Toronto Olympic swimming team recognized his potential. With time, patience, and a lot of training, Penny began to win, even in classes older than her own.
Richard and Alison didn’t pressure their gifted kids into pursuing something they didn’t want. Penny’s older brother Jamie is an NFL star and Hayley is an expert rower. Even as Penny began to display champion qualities in swimming, her parents encouraged her to keep her interest in other sports. richard said toronto life:
“An athlete is just a part of a whole person. If the whole person is not happy, then the athletic part will not develop. We didn’t care if our kids danced, swam, listened to music, or took pictures; We just wanted to find something that they were passionate about.”
Penny describes Richard and Alison as amazing parents and applauds them for facilitating her and her siblings’ careers. She said toronto life that her parents would still support her if she decided to stop swimming. Penny explained:
“They are not stage parents. If I wanted to stop swimming today and start drawing, my parents would say, ‘One hundred percent. If that’s what you want to do, we’ll do it.’”
Penny revealed that her parents and friends kept her grounded after her Rio 2016 triumph
Despite her extraordinary rise up the swimming rankings, few predicted that Penny would qualify for the Rio Olympics. She will be ready in 2020, they said.
However, Penny proved that she was ready for the biggest stage by qualifying for the Rio Olympics. She went on to bombard the competition, taking home four medals.
After her return to Toronto, Penny told her CBC that nothing much had changed in her personal life as her parents and friends kept her grounded. She said:
“I think it has gone quite well. I don’t think he was too crazy. I know my parents and friends definitely help keep me grounded I guess. I think overall it’s been pretty easy for me.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn