‘I love swimming, I’m good at swimming and it’s something I’m passionate about. But at the same time, there’s so many things I’m also very, very passionate about.
Penny Oleksiak loves meeting people who don’t know she’s Canada’s most decorated Olympian, and that happens more often now that she lives and trains in Southern California.
She loves that, too.
Leaving Toronto last fall to join the Mission Viejo pro swim group gave her space to decide what she really wants to do, in and out of the pool.
“I’m finally doing everything because I want to,” Oleksiak said. “I don’t have my coach every day telling me I have to be at the pool. If I want to show up, I’m going to show up. And if I don’t, I don’t have to. It’s nice to have that freedom.”
That hasn’t always been the case since she vaulted, in a single week, from a 16-year-old with potential to an Olympic star with four medals at the 2016 Rio Games, then three more podium finishes in Tokyo in 2021.
This story is from the May 13, 2024 edition of Toronto Star.
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This story is from the May 13, 2024 edition of Toronto Star.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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