![]() After this weekend, she clearly remains the favorite in the 50 free and 50 fly (she won World Championships in both last summer, albeit missing a few key competitors).īut what about the 100 fly? With Torri Huske going 55-mids consistently, a place Sjostrom hasn’t been since 2017, can she still compete? Or is she better investing that energy into the 100 free, where she won silver at Worlds last year, and where there’s competition but also an opportunity for her?Īnd then there’s a whole other set of questions about whether the window is still open for a Swedish medley relay to find a podium spot in Paris with Sjostrom, the Hansson sisters, and a yet-unconfirmed fourth.įor everything Sjostrom has accomplished in swimming, which is almost everything, two of the few gaps in her resume are multiple gold medals in a single Olympics or an Olympic medal in a relay. What’s next for Sjostrom will be the most curious chapter of her storied career. A lot of swimmers of her caliber can’t do that – they either need to be the six-event dynamos they used to be, or they lose interest. She has gotten very good at decision-making in the late stages of career, choosing her moments and her meets and her races carefully. A broken elbow turned into an Olympic medal in Tokyo missing Short Course Worlds in December turned into this breakout in May. Like other Russians, she has been relegated to the sidelines by Russia’s war in Ukraine, and even at her most recent racing in 2021 wasn’t doing what Sjostrom did this weekend.Įvery time it looked like Sjostrom is ready to take her victory lap and fly off into the sunset, she seems to bounce back. The only other World Champion from that era who is even in the same zip code to Sjostrom at this point is Russian Yulia Efimova, who won the 50 breaststroke in 2009. Others, like Aaron Peirsol, Kirsty Coventry, Marieke Guehrer, and Jessicah Schipper, are long retired and moved on to other careers. ![]() ![]() When we dig through the ranks of swimmers who won gold medals, or really medals of any color, at those championships, there are very few who are even still swimming at a serious level.Ī handful, like Allison Schmitt, Katinka Hosszu, and Emily Seebohm, have not formally announced the conclusion of their careers, though are certainly in the closing stages of whatever might be left there. She could have been a flash-in-the-pan, a supersuiter who peaked before graduating high school, but now, 14 years later, she carries on as one of the best in the world, and one of the best ever. She won the 100 fly in 56.06, a World Record at the time, at just 15-years-old. Those 2009 World Championships where Sjostrom’s introduction to the world. Images of the World Record destruction that lie somewhere between love-bombing and trauma flit through our minds, leaving echos of questions about who was really all that good, with most having moved on to other careers outside of the water.Īmong that era, though, there is still one star shining, arguably, as bright as she did then: Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, who reminded everyone of her brilliance on Sunday in Monaco with 24.89 in the 50 fly and 23.82 in the 50 free, both on a day where she swam multiple races. Share 14 Years After Breakout 2009 Worlds, Sarah Sjostrom Continues to Wow on LinkedInįor swimmers and swim fans of a certain age, the year 2009 sets off all kinds of cockles.Share 14 Years After Breakout 2009 Worlds, Sarah Sjostrom Continues to Wow on Pinterest.Submit 14 Years After Breakout 2009 Worlds, Sarah Sjostrom Continues to Wow to Reddit.Tweet 14 Years After Breakout 2009 Worlds, Sarah Sjostrom Continues to Wow.Share 14 Years After Breakout 2009 Worlds, Sarah Sjostrom Continues to Wow on Facebook.May 22nd, 2023 Europe, International, News, Opinion
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