Penny Oleksiak beats strong field for Lou Marsh Award

Most Lou Marsh Award winners don't find out about it in high school law class.

Then again, few 16-year-olds have had the success that Penny Oleksiak did in 2016.

The Olympic sensation beatout such luminaries as Pittsburgh Penguins captainand two-time winner Sidney Crosbyand breakout sprint starAndre De Grasse for the award on Tuesday.The Toronto native won four medals, including agold,at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August and followedthat performance by winning four medals at the world short-course swim championships in Windsor, Ont., last week.

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"The first thing I told my teacher when I walked into class was that I would be on my phone ... and that I was just watching out for something on Twitter," Oleksiak said during a conference call Tuesday."So she let me on my phone during that class. She called me out a few times to search something on Google.

"It was pretty exciting when I found out."

Oleksiak, who shattered several Canadian records this year,is the eighth swimmer to win the award and the first since 1992 when Mark Tewksburywon on the strength of his gold-medal performance at the Barcelona Olympics. She emphasized the importance of her family, friends and teammates at the Olympics and her home club in Scarborough, Ont., as critical to her success.

"We trained and won as one team," Oleksiak said. "Most people think that swimming is an individual sport, but five of my world and Olympic medals this year were on relay teams."

"I'm just proud of how hard I worked last year [and] all the people that helped push me I'm really, really grateful for them."

Oleksiak's win comes on the 50th anniversary of the success of another teenage swimmer.In 1966, a 15-year-old Elaine Tanner won the award after claiming four goldsand three silvers at the Commonwealth Games.

The Lou Marsh Award is handed out annuallyto Canada's best athlete as selected by a panel of journalists from across the country. The award is named for Lou Marsh, a formersports editor of the Toronto Star.

Stiff competition for award

Oleksiakwas up against a deep pool of successful Canadian athletes in 2016.

"I was super excited to be on a list with such great athletes because I was with Andre De Grasse and so many other athletes that I've looked up to for so long and I was just excited to be on the list, let alone win," she said.

Crosbymade a strong case for his third award, winning his second Stanley Cup and the ConnSmytheTrophy as the NHL's playoff MVP in June. The 29-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., later captained Canada to a win at theWorld Cup of Hockey, earning tournament MVPhonoursin the process.

DeGrasseemerged as the star of the second half of the Rio Games, winning a silver medal in the 200 metres and bronze in both the 100 and 4x100. The22-year-old fromMarkham, Ont.also garnered attention for his cordial rivalry with Olympic greatUsainBolt, who won gold in all three events.

Other finalists for the award included:

• Golfer BrookeHenderson, who won her first major this year at theKPMGWomen's PGA Championship and reached as high as No. 2 in the world rankings.
• ParalympicswimmerAurlieRivard,who won four medals three gold and one silver at the Games in Rio and was named flag-bearer at the closing ceremony.
• Tennis playerMilosRaonic, whoreached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon and finished the year at No. 3 in the world rankings, the highest for any Canadian.
• High jumper DerekDrouin, who won gold in Riowith a perfect run of six successful attempts (his only miss came when he tried to set a new Olympic record after securing the gold).