Olympic medallist Penny Oleksiak returns to normal life at Toronto high school
Posted Sep 6, 2016 02:47:04 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – Star swimmer Penny Oleksiak says her first day back at a Toronto high school has allowed her to get back to a normal life after winning four medals at the Rio Olympics several weeks ago.
The 16-year-old is entering grade 11 at Monarch Park Collegiate and says she wasn’t too excited to return to school, but says she’s happy to see her friends.
Oleksiak became the toast of Canada’s Rio Olympic squad, culminating with her carrying the country’s flag at the closing ceremonies.
School officials say they were strategizing about how to best deal with a bona fide celebrity who is still just a teenager and say they are doing their best to treat her as a regular student.
Principal Cynthia Abernethy says they’ve posted some of the media articles about Oleksiak’s accomplishments near the school’s entrance and will likely acknowledge her feats at an upcoming assembly, but will otherwise focus on school life.
Oleksiak says she’s looking forward to science classes and is glad she doesn’t have any upcoming arts classes.
