Rio 2016 Champion Penny Oleksiak Misses Olympic Cut in 100 Free at Sette Colli Trophy
By Riley Overend on SwimSwam
2024 SETTE COLLI TROPHY
Friday, June 21st – June 23rd
Foro Italico Swimming Stadium, Rome, Italy
LCM (50 meters)
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Rio 2016 Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak will not contest the 100 freestyle individually in Paris next month after falling just short of the qualifying standard at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome this weekend.
After winning the 100 free at last month’s Canadian Trials with a time of 53.66, just .05 seconds shy of the Olympic cut, Oleksiak vowed to aim for the 53.61 mark at another meet before the qualifying window closes on June 23.
On Saturday, Canada’s most decorated Olympian clocked a 55.18 in the 100 free heats before posting 53.77 in the final — still slightly slower than qualifying time. The 24-year-old Oleksiak took one last crack at the Olympic cut during the 400 free on Sunday — the final day of the qualifying period — splitting 53.86 through the first 100 meters on her way to a final time of 4:49.60.
Oleksiak tied Simone Manuel for the gold medal in the 100 free at the Rio Olympics back in 2016, when she was just 16 years old. She followed that up by placing 4th at the Tokyo 2021 edition, missing the podium by just .07 seconds, but she did bring home three medals in the 4×100 free relay (silver), 200 free (bronze), and 4×100 medley relay (bronze).
After placing 4th in the 100 free at the 2022 World Championships (52.98, under the Olympic cut but not during the qualifying window), Oleksiak underwent surgery on a torn meniscus that kept her out of the 2023 World Championships. Last September, she moved from Swimming Canada’s High Performance Centre in Toronto to the Mission Viejo pro group in Southern California for her Paris Olympic preparations.
Oleksiak will be searching for her eighth Olympic medal as a member of Canada’s 4×100 free relay next month.
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