Athletic Oleksiak Siblings: Penny Dominates in the Pool, Jamie Conquers the Ice

Jamie joined many of the Oleksiak clan and friends in Paris last week to watch Penny swim relay events at the 2024 Olympics. The «exciting» part was seeing Oleksiak help her quartet reach the final in the 100 meter medley relay. As CBC reported, «Oleksiak delivered a spectacular 52.93-second freestyle leg to anchor the Canadian women to a heat win in three minutes 56.10 seconds.» She told CBC afterward, «I'm just so happy, I feel really good.»

Unfortunately, Team Canada officials decided to replace three of the four swimmers from their heat victory, including Oleksiak. Without her the next day, Canada finished fourth in the final. That means Penny's medal count in her Summer Games career remains at seven, still a record for a Canadian athlete.

The «stressful» part includes what it took for Penny to compete in her third Olympics. As with NHL players like her older brother, Oleksiak has faced major physical obstacles. A medicine ball once struck her in the head. To fight her way to Paris, she had to overcome two knee surgeries and a shoulder injury.

Penny's Olympics.com bio provides a clue to how she's persevered. «Always travels with a grey blankie that is her good luck charm.» (Note to self: ask Jamie if he has a lucky grey blankie, too. Other note to self: be prepared to run after asking question.)

If you're imagining an Oleksiak family get-together with Penny in goggles, swim cap and speedo, and Jamie in helmet, skates and «S» sweater, think again. «We do a pretty good job of putting our jobs aside and just being siblings,» Jamie explains. «She's still my little sister.»

Whether they prefer competition water in liquid or frozen form isn't their only difference. 6-foot-1 Penny describes herself as «laid-back» (at least on land). Jamie, a 6-7, 257-pound bruiser, has dished out 418 hits in 229 games as a Kraken. At one time in the Oleksiak household, Penny had accumulated three dogs and a cat, which exceeded Jamie's preferred number.

Other than that, the pair get along (sorry for this) swimmingly. To the point Jamie once revealed in a TSN interview, «I've been doing a little swim training myself. I might have to race Penny.» One condition he set for the proposed match: «A long, long head start.»

While that was said in jest, incorporating aquatic training wasn't. «Part of being an athlete is getting out of your comfort zone.» Pressed further, Jamie admitted, «I'm more of a sinker» than a swimmer.