Sarah Sjostrom Captures Seventh Swimming World European Female Swimmer of the Year Award
The expectation for Sarah Sjostrom entering the Olympic Games in Paris was to walk away from La Defense Arena with a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle. As the world-record holder in the event, as well as the owner of multiple world titles, she was the overwhelming favorite to speed away from the field in the one-lap dash.
The Swedish star ended up with much more.
Before tackling the 50 freestyle, Sjostrom made a last-minute decision to contest the 100 freestyle. While it was an event in which she held the world record, Sjostrom has largely focused on the 50-meter sprints in recent years and defeating a stacked field at twice the distance seemed like a stretch.
But Sjostrom dipped into her vast experience and walked away with a surprise gold medal in the 100 freestyle. A few days later, she added the crown in the 50 free to complete the sprint sweep. For her efforts, Sjostrom has been named Swimming World European Female Swimmer of the Year for 2024, and for the seventh time in her illustrious career.
As Sjostrom stood behind the blocks prior to the 100 freestyle, a visit to the podium was not out of the question. But the veteran would need to produce an epic swim and knock off a field featuring the likes of world champion Mollie O’Callaghan of Australia and Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey.
Ultimately, Sjostrom got the job done as she rallied from third place at the midway point of the race to prevail in 52.16. When she looked at the scoreboard and comprehended the outcome, pure joy poured over Sjostrom, who raised her hands and embarked on a celebration that spoke to the meaning of her triumph.
“This is unbelievable,” said Sjostrom, who earlier in the year won world titles in the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly. “I didn’t think I would swim the 100 free, honestly. After the freestyle relay on the first day, I told my coach straightaway, ‘I don’t think the 100 free is for me. I want to rest until the 50.’ He was like, no way. You need to go out there and see what you can do, no matter the outcome. I didn’t know what exactly I could do, and definitely didn’t know what everyone else could do. I’m super proud of myself that I tried this.”
Enhancing her special week was Sjostrom’s dominant victory in the 50 freestyle. Blasting off the start, the Swede left her competition fighting for the silver medal and wrapped up the sprint double with a time of 23.71. That performance handed Sjostrom a .26 margin over silver medalist Meg Harris of Australia.
What does the future hold for Sjostrom? One day, she’ll receive enshrinement into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Prior to that honor, but following a low-key 2025 program, she plans to continue competing.
“It’s been a great journey with the 50 freestyle,” she said. “In Rio, I didn’t make the final, and in Tokyo, I got the silver medal, which was like a gold medal to me because I didn’t have as good of preparations for Tokyo. This time, I definitely had a great preparation but also I’m a little older. I’m super proud of how I managed to come back and win silver in Tokyo, but this is of course amazing, and it fees unreal to go away from this competition with two gold medals.”
European Female Swimmer of the Year
- Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden)
- Tes Schouten (Netherlands)
- Anastasiya Kirpichnikova (France)
- Isabel Gose (Germany)
- Mona McSharry (Ireland)
