2023 WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
- July 14-30, 2023
- Fukuoka, Japan
- Pool Swimming: July 23-30
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Info
- Meet Central
Canada will be missing its most decorated Olympian at this summer’s World Championships, as Penny Oleksiak has withdrawn from the competition due to injury.
Oleksiak announced Thursday that she won’t compete in Fukuoka and is instead opting to focus on continuing to rehab her left knee after undergoing surgery last August in addition to dealing with an unrelated left shoulder injury sustained more recently.
Oleksiak withdrew from the Commonwealth Games last summer in order to have surgery on a torn meniscus, and only returned to the competition pool in May at the Barcelona leg of the Mare Nostrum Tour.
At that meet, she raced in the heats of the women’s 50 free (26.44), 100 free (56.08) and 50 fly (27.35), well outside of what she would typically produce at an in-season competition.
“Swimming at Mare Nostrum was a checkpoint for worlds and I gave it my best shot,” Oleksiak said in a statement. “We reviewed my swims there and it showed me the level I want to get back to. Now I need to focus on my rehab to get back to where I want to be and put myself in position to be at my best next season.”
Despite not competing at the Canadian Swim Trials in March, Oleksiak was among 31 swimmers named to the Canadian 2023 World Championship team, as was Taylor Ruck, who also didn’t race and is currently dealing with a broken hand.
Oleksiak’s coach at the High Performance Centre – Ontario in Toronto, Ryan Mallette, said they concluded she would not be back at her best in time for Worlds, which kick off on July 23 in Fukuoka, Japan.
“The bar that we set was, can she be as good as she’s ever been at these world championships? We just don’t feel like we’re going to be ready to be 100 percent yet this summer,” Mallette said. “Our focus is to get her back to 100 percent as soon as possible to get ready for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“Penny has done absolutely everything she can to recover and be ready to go this summer. Unfortunately, due to the timing we just aren’t ready to get there yet.”
High Performance Director John Atkinson added: “This allows her to put in place a more specific plan for rehab and training to put her in position to be ready to embark on the next season,” Atkinson said. “Penny is a world-class athlete. Swimming Canada and our High Performance Centre staff are going to work with Penny’s team to put together a bespoke plan for Penny that can help her come back ready for next season.”
Oleksiak is Canada’s most decorated Olympian in history, having won seven medals across the Rio and Tokyo Games, including tying with American Simone Manuel for individual gold in the women’s 100 freestyle in 2016.
Oleksiak, who was 16 at the time, also won silver individually in the 100 fly and added a pair of relay medals in Rio, and followed up five years later by winning three medals in Tokyo, including individual bronze in the 200 free.
At the World Aquatics Championships, Oleksiak holds the distinction of being Canada’ most decorated swimmer ever with nine medals, though they all come from relays.
Individually, she finished fourth in the 100 free at the 2022 championships in Budapest, and in the 200 free, she was disqualified in the semi-finals for a false start.
In 2019, she placed sixth in the 200 free and 50 fly, having withdrawn from the 100 free, and in her Worlds debut in 2017, she was fourth in the 100 fly, fifth in the 50 fly and sixth in the 100 free.
With Oleksiak having dropped out and Ruck’s status in question for the World Championships, Canada’s once-stacked relay depth is dwindling for Fukuoka, especially with another mainstay on previous teams, Kayla Sanchez, changing her sporting citizenship to the Philippines last year.
Penny will be ready next year all the focus will be on summer, penny will have less pressure
“I’m not on vacation” was a capture on one of Penny’s recent IG story from a beach before Mare Nostrum. Indeed, she was. Just using Swim Canada resources to travel to Florida camps and all over USA and Europe, etc. Seeing how much Penny is chatting with fellow HPC swimmers during kick sets or how often she is interrupting her training to change music in her player, I feel very awkward knowing how much age-group swimmers that are training across the pool are looking up to her 🙁
You’re correct, and many don’t understand or won’t believe you but we know what’s happening. It starts at the top.
First things first – show up to trials – or you don’t race. I love this generation but the babying is completely insidious and a waste of resources.
It starts at the top….who do these people answer to?Are they elected to their positions?How do you get these nabobs to do their jobs? Spending money on taking injured swimmers on paid vacations.?Time for a change.
Oh for god’s sake, if you don’t know someone don’t judge them.
Penny is better than any Australian swimmer living or dead.
Penny’s breakthrough moment! Just a friendly reminder she beat out that Australian lady who had a WR under her belt coming in:
https://youtu.be/5nwJLOV1LhY
Put another Campbell on the “barbie” and watch ’em get cooked in the final.
That is a lie, my Aunty is better than Penny & she is Australian.
That is Aunty May, not the other Aunty,
I heard Dawn Fraser was fully loaded on “stuff” much like the East German women.
You heard wrong.
But many of us wonder what “stuff” you are on.
Her, Keran Perkins, Ian Thorpe, Shane Gould. Kornelia Ender would be jealous.
Gee, who’s the odd one out in that list. How’s life under the bridge?
Ender. She’s probably cleaner than all those other goons. 🤣
You can’t troll yourself you goose.
Get use to me babe! When’s Australia’s trials again? 3 weeks? 😚
So like unapologetic doper Shayna Jack level?
You know it bestie. Australians are juiced up.
Enjoy your time visiting a Canadian article.
Canadians are really bad at smack talk.
They’re American
Milak is what 23 and looking like he’s middle aged! Somethings not clicking with that thing.
Pure 🇨🇦
And your name is Tim.
The lily has a smooth stalk,
Will never hurt your hand;
But the rose upon her brier
Is lady of the land.
There’s sweetness in an apple tree,
And profit in the corn;
But lady of all beauty
Is a rose upon a thorn.
When with moss and honey
She tips her bending brier,
And half unfolds her glowing heart,
She sets the world on fire.
I think that the options to be on the podium in the 4×100 and 4×200 freestyle are much less, the options in the 4×100 medley are greater, although there is still a problem with the breaststroke.
I would opt for MacNeil-mcintosh, as in the commonwealth because summer swam that relay 10 minutes after doing the 400 freestyle and divided 53.33.
Masse/wilm, 1.07 breastroker (Angus/pickrem/wog), macneil, mcintosh have many options.
Mixed medley relay with masse/dergoussof/MacNeil/liendo is a posibility. Dergoussof in 59 in relay
Time for a new high performance director.
Team doctor
Penny’s problems start and end with her
Still waiting for Andrew to give us the cal bears angle on this story
Let’s just be honest on this:
— MN training camp – she was absent in Swimming Canada’s social media post pics that actually revolved around the pool and athletes training (present in social activities however).
— Atkinson and Mallette trot out the ‘knee rehab’ trope and Oleksiak shows up on social media out in a social setting in stiletto heels in 3…..2……1….. making both cearly look bad.
— Need to immediately pivot to the 5, 6 and 7 placed Freetsylers. There is nothing to say that given huge support as being “needed” to replace her for Olympic relays – that someone doesn’t step up and shine. Literally how America finds its break out stars sometimes.
—… Read more »
In hindsight the mistake that was made was trying to name her to the team when she didn’t show up to earn her spot at the qualifying meet. Same with Ruck. The alternative would be a time trial in June where they can have a chance to earn a spot.
Agreed! I would say consideration to Ruck because at least she was open and honest about the fact she needed a re-evaluation break and people openly know about her struggles. The broken hand thing is a solid Lochte-level “oopsy” on her part, but until then she seemed being serious about being ready.
I think on Oleksiak’s part, there seems to some hostage holding maybe going on. Wonder if the Natl team director and HP coach are getting ultimatums which involve ‘I might quit and then where will you be’ option.
At this point, as mentioned above, this is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ sport. No more free passes should be given. Want to make the… Read more »
…what? I literally cannot understand what you’re saying in this post.
I did see her in the pool in social media pics and vids in Europe though 🤷♀️
Since when glam promotional videos can reveal true work ethic or its absence?
It’s Oleksiak in combination with Ruck, Sanchez, Smith. Is it confirmed that Rebecca Smith is taking the summer off from swimming to focus on her career in nursing?
I think the difference is that Ruck and Smith have been open and honest about what’s going on in their lives – and they seem committed to be ready next spring. Sanchez was a hit, but that’s water under the bridge, and Swimming Canada will have had 2 full years at Trials to have made up for that loss.
The frustration around Oleksiak is that it seems, and let’s be blunt, there’s a good chance some of this is now BS (she tends to be her own worst enemy for this hypothesis based off her social media). She doesn’t want to swim? Fine. Don’t swim. Just be open about it so people don’t hold out hope, and also, now… Read more »
Canada probably should use SM to swim only medley relay. Their 4 x 1 and 4 x 2 chances are slim for World.
On the other hand, Chinese 4 x 2 is strong enough for even silver:
Bingjie Li (21) 1:55.62
Yaxin Liu (23) 1:56.18
Jiaping Li (18) 1:56.47
Yanhan Ai (21) 1:56.94
What about using Katerine Savard on fly and MacNeil on free
That is an option but I think MacNeil/McIntosh would probably end up being faster than Savard/MacNeil (although McIntosh does have 400IM the same session). MacNeil’s 100 fly PB is 1.6 faster than Savard while her 100 free is only 0.4 faster than McIntosh.
They can use Summer in the heats only in order to put a time in that will almost certainly qualify them for Paris, as a medal may be out of reach now…then summer will only have 400 im in the evening and if she feels ok, she can swim the final as well. In fact they should try to get a Paris time in all relays in the heats, what with the loss of Penny, Taylor, Kayla and r smith in poor form…or maybe r smith declined her Panam spot knowing that herself and possibly andison will need to replace Penny and Taylor in Fukuoka
Yang junxuan is confirmed for worlds!