2021 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, December 16th – Tuesday, December 21st
- Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- SCM (25m)
- Meet Site
- Entries
Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak has withdrawn from the Short Course World Championships as she continues to work her way through a back injury, her coach Ben Titley told SwimSwam on Friday.
Oleksiak, who is Canada’s most-decorated Olympian in any sport, won a silver and a bronze medal as part of Canadian relays in Tokyo, and also took bronze individually in the 200 free. Combined with 4 medals from Rio (including a gold in the 100 free), her 7 medals are the most ever won by a Canadian Olympian, even at just 21 years old.
Oleksiak, in spite of her young age, has dealt with a number of injuries, including a shoulder injury and a concussion that impacted her preparation for the 2017 World Championships. In the lead-up to the Tokyo Games, she was dealing with a back injury that kept her out of the water for a few months in 2020.
While she’s still dealing with that injury, her coach says that she is doing better. Still, after being originally announced as part of the 14-swimmer Canadian team for the Short Course World Championships, she was absent from the entry lists that were released on Friday by FINA.
Her absence will take a bite out of Canada’s relays, though they are still contenders for medals thanks to the presence of Maggie MacNeil, the defending Olympic gold medalist in the 100 fly, and former backstroke World Record holder Kylie Masse.
The rest of Canada’s roster is below:
Women
- Bailey Andison
- Tessa Cieplucha
- Maggie MacNeil
- Kylie Masse
- Summer McIntosh
- Sydney Pickrem
- Kayla Sanchez
- Katerine Savard
- Rebecca Smith
Men
Ruck may be too busy with NCAA commitments.
More disappointing, no Ingrid Whilm, Acevedo, or Sophie-Harvey. Those 3 swam really well in the ISL season and would have finals contenders, Whilm a medal threat 100 back. But they didn’t fit Canada’s LC selection criteria…
No Taylor Ruck?
She’s also been pretty vocal about *hating* SCM so I don’t think she’s too sad about this!
She also has shown that she doesn’t seem to the type of swimmer who needs to race often to do well at her big goal meets.
4×100 free relay – Sanchez, Smith, MacNeill and…MacIntosh or Savard?
I’d say Savard, from memory her splits for the Condors were quicker than McIntosh for Toronto.
Savard / Pickrem for sure.