Oleksiak has surgery to repair cartilage tear in knee

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 from 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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2022.