TORONTO – Quadruple Olympic medallist Penny Oleksiak is returning to her home club for the next step in her career.
The 17-year-old from Toronto will be rejoining the Toronto Swim Club this season, under head coach Bill O’Toole. O’Toole coached Oleksiak as an age group swimmer, prior to her joining the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre – Ontario, where she swam the past two seasons with Ben Titley. O’Toole guided her to six medals at the 2015 World Junior Championships.
“I’m excited to be returning to the Toronto Swim Club to continue my training and I look forward to future collaborations with coach Ben Titley as I prepare for Tokyo 2020,” Oleksiak said. “I would like to thank the people at the High Performance Centre – Ontario, and in particular my head coach, for their invaluable contribution to my successes these past two years.”
“I’m very excited to be working with Penny again,” O’Toole said. “We have always had a great relationship and shared in many successes. I am looking forward to working with Swimming Canada to advance Penny’s career on the international scene.”
Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson said the organization will continue to fully support Oleksiak in her development, as it has since she was 12 years old.
“Swimming Canada Senior Coach Martyn Wilby and I are already visiting Toronto in September and we will now work on planning for Penny with her coach Bill and help develop her plan,” Atkinson said. “We know Bill very well. Swimming Canada and I have worked with Bill in the lead up to the World Junior Championships in 2015, and on coach development programs. We have a great working relationship with Bill.”
Oleksiak won four Olympic medals training at HPC-Ontario, including a bronze in the 4×100-m freestyle relay, which featured four swimmers from her training group.
“Penny achieved amazing performances with Swimming Canada High Performance Centre – Ontario Head Coach Ben Titley and his staff. She will continue to work with Ben on national teams and relay activities, as we continue our drive for success in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympic Games,” Atkinson said.
“Penny is a great athlete and we achieved great things together in the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre – Ontario. I would like to thank all those who have made the last few years of Penny’s swimming so successful, including her current and past teammates, and the staff here at the HPC-O,” Titley said. “I wish her and her coach all the best. I look forward to working with them on national teams and know she can do great things in the future. My door will always remain open to supporting this young woman as she progresses.”
The HPC-Ontario training group remains strong, with double Olympic medallist Taylor Ruck having joined a group that already includes Rebecca Smith, Kayla Sanchez and Olympic medallist Michelle Toro. Smith and Sanchez made their first senior teams in 2017, competing at the FINA World Championships in Budapest. They went on to star at the FINA World Junior Championships with a combined nine medals, including a pair of relay golds and world junior records teaming with Ruck and Oleksiak in the 4×100 and 4×200-m freestyle.
Press release courtesy of Swimming Canada.
Taylor Ruck has already committed to Stanford, and Rebecca and Kayla are also going to finish high school next year. The HPC-ONT squad in 2018/2019 is going to look fundamentally different than it does right now. Will be interesting to see who Swim Canada moves in there to fill those spots.
Knelson and Hannah both have good potential in sprint events, which seems to be a focus of Ben Titley’s program right now. Any chance we see either of them move East? Mastromatteo had a breakout WJC and is already at the Academy program there…could he be one that can benefit from training with Funk?