Sandrine Mainville is Penny Oleksiak's swimming 'Mom'
25-year-old looks after youngsters on 4x100 squad
Sandrine Mainville is only 25 years old, but that's enough to make her the oldest swimmer on Canada's women's 4x100-metre freestyle relay team.
It was also enough to earn her the nickname "Mom."
When Penny Oleksiak was new to Canada's national swim team, Mainville would often let the then 15-year-old complete homework at her house, and give her rides to practice. Their close relationship helped lead to the "Mom" moniker, and it's a dynamic that continues in some ways today.
Mainville says she and teammate Chantal Van Landeghem, 23, were usually the ones looking after Oleksiak, who turned 17 last month and is now a national celebrity after winning four medals at the Rio Olympics, including individual gold in the 100m freestyle and a bronze with the 4x100 team alongside Mainville and Van Landeghem.
"[Chantal and I] were away this year for school, and the coach was actually glad that we both came back because we're kind of the ones who tell her whenever she's doing something wrong," Mainville says. "We're always there to put her back on track."
Oleksiak also credits another teammate, Michelle Toro, with helping her out.
"I'm very grateful to have these three girls to help guide me and everything," Oleksiak says. "I know that they're there for me and I can go to them to talk about stuff."
As proud as Mainville is of Oleksiak's progress, the native of Boucherville, Que., isn't finished growing as an athlete herself.
Nearing the end?
For the first time in her career, Mainville will participate in individual events at the world championships, which begin Sunday in Budapest. She plans to compete in the 50- and 100-metre freestyle races in addition to the relay.
"I really like to do the relay because you get to share something really intense with three other girls," she says, "But... swimming is an individual sport and that's why I started swimming at first. I'm so independent and I like to do my own thing.
"I'm glad that I'm kind of at the end of my career and I have the chance to do that."
For a young athlete fresh off an Olympic medal who's about to compete solo at the world championships for the first time, it may come as a surprise that Mainville is already thinking about retirement. But she says she takes it year by year.
"When I came back from Rio last summer, I knew that I still wanted to swim, and so I didn't really ask myself any questions, I just kept swimming," Mainville says. "I think I'm just going to come back from worlds, take a few weeks of break and then decide just on the spot if I want to keep swimming or not."
After living in five different places in five years, Mainville says she looks forward to a time when she can call a single place home. She's still in the middle of law school at the Université de Montréal, and has been working on a reduced course load while continuing to train.
Retirement could mean that she finishes her schooling much sooner.
"For now, I'm just focusing on the worlds and nobody knows what's going to happen next," she says.