Well before the massive splash of success in the Rio Olympic pool, Swimming Canada’s target was Tokyo
Led by Oleksiak’s four medal tour de force, suddenly Canadian swimming was back on the world stage in a big way. The six medals were the most by the country’s swimmers since 1984 in Los Angeles, as the 16-year-old Torontonian became Canada’s youngest Olympic champ with her thrilling race to the wall in the 100-metre freestyle event.
The goal of being one of Canada’s most productive disciplines on the Olympic stage hasn’t disappeared however, but clouded by the unknowns that will greet so many athletes in so many sports in Japan. Titley and Swimming Canada’s high performance director and national coach, John Atkinson, aren’t reaching for excuses, but instead are ambitiously preparing for an Olympics in which they are at a training handicap to some of their top global rivals.
“We have some key phrases one the team … we talk of professionalism, of focus, of being adaptable, of no drama, of being relaxed. All of that is something they’ve had to draw on for the last 16 months.” If mindset can make up for it, the Canadian team is hungry. The 26 swimmers bound for Tokyo include 10 with previous Games experience including four-time Olympian Brent Hayden, the 37-year-old bronze medallist from the 2012 London Games, who came out of retirement.
“I see as motivating but I also know that most of the time they don’t mean anything going into the meet,” said Oleksiak, whose flat-out racing engine is her biggest strength. “I try to really focus on myself and what I know I can do because outside of that there’s not a ton I can control.
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