Sarah Sjöström wants to swim faster than she ever did in the Olympics.
But she refuses to say that she is “going for gold”.
– I’m usually careful about it, says the star.
Sarah Sjöström had her big breakthrough already as a 14-year-old, when she won EC gold in the 100 meter butterfly. Since then, the medals at major championships have been piled up, and when she enters the Olympics in Paris, she will do so with four medals in her bag.
“Tend to be careful”
Sjöström won gold, silver and bronze during the Rio Olympics, and in the Tokyo Olympics most recently won silver in the 50 meter freestyle. When she goes into this year’s summer games in Paris, she will do so as a big favorite in the distances she competes in. She is one of Sweden’s greatest athletes of all time, and one of the most successful swimmers ever. But Sjöström himself has no stated medal goal.
For SVT, Sjöström tells that she does want to swim her fastest ever, but that she does not go in with a clear demand for gold.
– I am usually quite careful about mentioning medal goals, but everyone knows what level I will want to be at when I stand there, when I have to put my hand in the tile. I think everyone is aware of that, given the level I have maintained in recent years, she says.
The words about the rivals
Sarah Sjöström believes that she swims better when she releases the pressure from herself, and when she does not force anything.
– I’m doing everything I can to swim faster than I ever did. I will not force anything, because I know that I swim the fastest when I just let things be as they are, she says.
Sarah Sjöström also does not say that she is “going for gold”, and the reason has to do with her competitors.
– I don’t usually do that, because I don’t want to underestimate my competitors, and I know everyone is working hard before the Olympics, so it’s usually hard to say that. I usually say that I want to swim faster than I ever did, and then I have to beat my own world record. So then you know approximately what it would lead to, she says.
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