Canadian Olympic swimmer Ryan Cochrane retired Tuesday at age 28, a decision he calls "exciting and terrifying." By the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Cochrane was the oldest competitor in the 1,500 final and watching the amazing rise of a competitive Canadian team with swimmers a full decade younger. Along the way, Cochrane was the one consistently bright light, the one who showed that a Canadian swimmer could win medals on the international stage. “I didn’t get the hardware I was looking for, but one of my favourite experiences was being part of that (Rio) team and the success and the normalization of getting Olympic medals,” Cochrane said. Penny Oleksiak, a 16-year-old from Toronto, led the way with Canada’s first gold of the Games in 100 freestyle, silver in 100 butterfly and two bronze medals with her relay teammates.

Source: thestar March 21, 2017 22:18 UTC