She is one of the world’s best swimmers – but is often overlooked by Sarah Sjöström.
Now Michelle Coleman talks honestly about what it’s like to have her best friend as her biggest rival.
– It’s clear as hell that I’ve thought a few times that “what if I hadn’t been a swimmer during Sarah’s time”, she says to DN.
Sarah Sjöström is one of our greatest athletes, and many believe that she deserves a place among Sweden’s very best athletes of all time. She broke through as a 14-year-old and has since dominated championship after championship, and when she soon enters the Olympics, she will do so as a given gold favorite.
The words about the close friend
But aside from Sarah Sjöström, Swedish swimming is generally doing very well. Michelle Coleman has long been able to threaten the very best on a good day, but in recent years she has taken a step further, and last winter she won gold in the 50m freestyle during the short course European Championships, and she was also part of Sweden’s racing team that won gold in both the 4×50 meter freestyle, and the 4×50 meter medley.
But despite the great success of Coleman, she is often overshadowed by Sarah Sjöström in the media. Coleman and Sjöström were born in the same year, and are today best friends, but rivals at the same time. When they both competed in Monaco earlier this summer, Coleman struck with his fifth-fastest time ever in the 50m freestyle. But Sarah Sjöström still won the competition. In an interview with DN, Coleman and Sjöström now talk about what it’s really like to be very best friends, while at the same time being rivals in the pool.
– For my part, it has taken time to balance competition with friendship, but the more confident I have become in myself both as an athlete and as a person, it has become easier to see my performance for what it is in relation to my conditions, Coleman tells the newspaper , and continues:
– And I am incredibly happy about everything Sarah does.
“It’s clear as hell…”
But at the same time, Coleman admits that she thought about where she would have been in her career if it weren’t for Sjöström’s legendary career.
– It’s clear as hell that I’ve thought a few times that “what if I hadn’t been a swimmer during Sarah’s time”. At the same time, she has done an incredible amount for sports in general – and swimming specifically – which has paved the way for the rest of us. She has shown what it takes, she says.
Coleman also believes that Sarah Sjöström is always there for her, at the highest and lowest points in her career.
– When I’ve had a hard time, Sarah has been a great support, and has shown great understanding. She has always tried to de-dramatize it by saying “take it one day at a time, or even one hundredth at a time”.
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