Penny Oleksiak, Canada's most decorated Olympian, undergoes knee surgery

Canada's Penny Oleksiak reacts following the women's 100m freestyle final during the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, in Tokyo, Friday, July 30, 2021. (Frank Gunn/CP)

Decorated swimmer Penny Oleksiak says she has a long recovery process ahead of her after undergoing surgery to repair torn cartilage in her knee.

The seven-time Olympic medallist form Toronto says in a post to her Instagram account that she recently sustained a meniscus tear. The meniscus is a rubbery piece of cartilage in the knee between the thigh bone and shin bone.

She says she underwent successful surgery at Women's College Hospital in Toronto and is optimistic about her recovery.

Oleksiak won two silver and two bronze at the world swimming championships earlier this year in Hungary, giving her nine career world championship medals overall (two silver, seven bronze).

She became the most decorated Canadian Olympian of all time at the Tokyo Games last year when she won three medals, increasing her career total to seven (one gold, two silver four bronze).

Oleksiak had planned to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania next month to raise money to combat world hunger before sustaining the injury.

When submitting content, please abide by our  submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.
We use cookies to improve your experience. Learn More or change your cookie preferences. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies.
close