Sarah Sjostrom Honored as Swimming World’s European Female Swimmer of the Year (Full Voting)

Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden celebrates after competing in the 50m Butterfly Women Final during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 29th, 2023. Sarah Sjostrom placed first winning the gold medal.

Sarah Sjostrom Honored as Swimming World’s European Female Swimmer of the Year (Full Voting)

It’s been 14 years since Sarah Sjostrom announced her presence on the global stage at the 2009 World Championships.

The 15-year-old arrived in the Eternal City as the reigning European 100-meter butterfly champion following victory in Eindhoven in March 2008.

The Swede set a championship and national record of 56.76 in the prelims at the Foro Italico before slicing 17-hundredths of a second from Inge de Bruijn’s 56.61 world record in the semis for a global mark of 56.44.

Her record lasted approximately 24 hours and seven minutes before Sjostrom then cut a further 38-hundredths chunk with a 56.06 mark en route to gold.

Behind her came Australian Jessicah Schipper in an Oceania mark of 56.23 and China’s Jiao Liuyang, whose time of 56.86 was an Asian record—as all bar one of the women in the final finished inside 57 seconds!

Schipper and Jiao are both long-retired, leaving the water with armfuls of Olympic and world titles to seek pastures new.

Sjostrom, though, has not only continued to compete, but has written entry upon entry in the record books since that first European title at 14, which came just four years after she took up swimming!

That victory was greeted with a glance up at the board and a squeal, heralding a career that has seen her spend more than half her life at the very top table: four-time Olympic medalist…12-time world long course champion…17-time European champion…four-time world record holder.

Once again, she is Swimming World’s European Female Swimmer of the Year.

In Fukuoka in July, Sjostrom won her fifth straight 50 fly title to tie with Michael Phelps for the most individual medals won in World Championships competition. She also became only the second swimmer, along with Katie Ledecky in the 800 free, to win five successive golds in the same event. Minutes later, she lowered her own 50 free world record to 23.61 in the semis, six years to the day since she went 23.67 at the Budapest Worlds.

Come the final, and Sjostrom claimed her third splash-and-dash title in 23.62, the second-fastest time in history, as she claimed her 21st individual Worlds medal to move beyond Phelps: 12 golds…six silvers…three bronze medals.

Following the 50 free, Sjostrom said: “I’ve done this many times, of course, but it’s a battle with emotions, so I’m really happy and proud I was able to do that.

“I think it’s important to stay humbled, and that’s something I’ve learned. It was 14 years ago I won my first titles. I’ve done this many times. I know I would never take a win for granted. I’m just trying to focus on details and work on them.”

Sjostrom now holds the 22-fastest 50 fly times in history, headed by her 24.43 world record—a domination matched only by the likes of Ledecky and Adam Peaty.

The top four 50 free times were all posted by the Swede as well as five of the top six and six of the top 10…also, the top two times in the 100 fly—headed by her 55.53 WR—and the 51.71 global standard in the 100 free.

Few can match her longevity.

Fellow Swede Therese Alshammar made her international debut at the 1994 World Championships and went on to compete at six Olympics from 1996 to 2016 and even attempted to make the team for Tokyo two years ago.

Lars Frolander—also of Sweden—Oussama Mellouli and Derya Büyükuncu are the other swimmers who have swum at six Games.

Sjostrom told Swimming World last year that she was planning for Los Angeles 2028, which would also be her sixth straight Olympics—20 years after making her Games debut aged 14 at Beijing 2008.

Speaking in September 2022, Sjostrom said, “Definitely. (It’s) very unlikely I am not doing it. Paris will be the first one, and I try to always take one year at a time—that is the main thing.

“We’ll see—maybe I’ll find out in two years (and) I’m like ‘Ah, no, I’m done,’ but I don’t think so.

“I think I am going to continue for much longer.”

TOP 5 EUROPEAN (Women)

SARAH SJOSTROM, Sweden (12)………… 60
Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania…………………………. 47
Evgeniia Chikunova, Russia……………………… 33
Simona Quadarella, Italy………………………….. 19
Marrit Steenbergen, Netherlands……………….. 13

(First-place votes in parentheses)

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Mihai

3 months ago

Evgeniia Chikunova?!!! what for? aren’t soviet swimmers banned?
This vote that included E. C. is an offense to Sarah and other great swimmers. Shame!