Penny Oleksiak is Canada’s most decorated Olympian and the first Canadian to win four medals in a single Summer Olympics, achieved during her debut in Rio in 2016 at the young age of 16.
Unbelievable! @OleksiakPenny has won Canada’s first gold medal for Canada at #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/hIq5L6ffVV
HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) August 12, 2016
She won three additional medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Penny Oleksiak collects her 6th Olympic medal and her 2nd medal of #Tokyo2020Swimming to in the womens 200m freestyle!Presented by @SportChek #FindWhatMovesYou pic.twitter.com/pPTBnBvWHs
CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) July 28, 2021
Penny is also the sister of Seattle Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak.
A post shared by Jamie Oleksiak (@jamieoleksiak)
Jamie and Penny share a strong bond and frequently support each other at sporting events. Inspired by his sister’s achievements, Jamie incorporated swimming into his workout routine and once joked about challenging Penny, if given a head start.
From one Oleksiak athlete to another Penny Oleksiak is getting the recognition she deserves after winning bronze on Tuesday at #Tokyo2020 and becoming Canada’s most-decorated summer Olympian with six medals pic.twitter.com/iuQVR6JQpL
Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) July 28, 2021
Pennys first medal came in her favorite event, the 100-meter freestyle. She failed to qualify for it this year, but is excited to be part of the women’s relay in Paris. Over the past two years, she has worked hard to recover from knee and shoulder injuries.
One thing the Oleksiak siblings share is their resilience; they both persist and never give up when confronted with challenges. Penny has broken records and like her brother even broken teeth (story in the link below), but smiles through it all.
You can view the upcoming schedule for swimming events here and watch the Olympics on your local NBC channel.