Penny Oleksiak establishes herself as an Olympic swimming star

By Benjamin Blum, CBC Sports

Forget about calling Penny Oleksiak a star in the making.

After winning Canada's first two medals in Rio, including silver in the 100-metre butterfly on Sunday, the 16-year-old from Toronto is a legitimate Canadian Olympic force.

• Canada's Penny Oleksiak wins 2nd medal of Rio Olympics

Oleksiak's medal run began Saturday night as the anchor of the bronze-medal winning 4x100 freestyle relay team. While that medal was the result of a strong team effort, Oleksiak's closing speed on the final leg sealed the medal for the team of Sandrine Mainville, Chantal van Landeghem and Taylor Ruck, another 16-year-old upstart.

Oleksiak swam her heat in 56.46 seconds, beating her own time from Saturday's semifinals. Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom won gold with a world record of 55.48.

On Sunday, the teenager used her immense power on the final lap to touch the wall in second. 

The best part? She could still win another medal.

'A great closer' 

The 6-foot-1 Oleksiak has been on an upward trajectory to the Olympic podium after breaking through at the Canadian swim trials back in April.

After earning six medals, including one gold, at the 2015 FINA world junior championships, she has set Canadian records seemingly with the intention of breaking them herself later on. Her silver in the 100 fly set a new Canadian and world junior record.

"She's such a great closer," van Landeghem told CBCSports.ca after the Olympic trials. At that event, Oleksiak bested van Landeghem's Canadian record in the 100 free. Oleksiak will swim in the 100 free preliminaries on Wednesday.

Her medal haul also includes a silver and bronze at the Mare Nostrum swim meet in June. As her momentum continues, CBC swimming analyst Byron MacDonald thinks she isn't done yet.

"Watch out 2020," MacDonald said after the event, in reference to the next summer Olympics in Tokyo.

(Not) just an average teenager

Oleksiak has earned the admiration of teammates and fans to the point that her win Sunday was memorialized as a "Twitter moment."

Despite all of the laurels, she will still be a teenager until a month before the 2020 Games.

"She has gifts, she has talent. She's amazingly competitive, she has a family that supports her — well has to at the moment, right?" Ben Titley, Canada's national team coach told CBCSports.ca. Oleksiak, whose first senior competition is the Olympics, is called "The Child" by her teammates.

Oleksiak`s parents have become a mainstay in the stands, proudly and genuinely ecstatic for their daughter. Her brother Jamie, who plays defence for the Dallas Stars, took to Twitter to congratulate his sister.

"She has physical gifts and attributes that make her a great athlete," Titley, who doubles as Oleksiak's coach, said. "Hopefully, with people like myself or her teammates guiding her to make the right decisions, we'll see her over the years become one of Canada's best athletes in any sports. I truly believe that."

In the meantime, Oleksiak will be back in the pool in three days. Canada will certainly be watching.