She has been a world leader for most of her life.
Now Sarah Sjöström is making big changes to keep up – and extend her career.
– It has not been sustainable, she says.
The Swede had a turbulent last year. The charge before the Olympics in Tokyo last summer was destroyed as a result of an unfortunate injury. Sjöström slipped on an ice patch, and had to spend the whole spring on rehabilitation.
Make big change
Despite the poor conditions to say the least, Sarah Sjöström still showed class. She left the championship with an impressive silver, which was considered highly incredible given her tough months before the games.
After Tokyo, the superstar was back in the form everyone is used to seeing her in. It was a real medal rain in the short track world championships in Doha – where Sjöström picked up seven medals, three of which were gold.
A World Cup in Budapest is just around the corner and starts already this weekend. Before the championship, Sarah Sjöström has completely changed her mind, and realized that her current training and competition approach will not last long.
“Not sustainable”
The Swede has been thinking of reducing the number of branches she joins.
– It takes an incredibly tough training program to be able to do four to five individual disciplines and team caps during a championship. Given the training background I have, I might still be able to do it, but in a longer perspective it does not feel sustainable, she tells Dagens Nyheter.
She continues:
– So to last a long time, I want to give myself the chance to rest a bit. Doing as many disciplines as I have done in previous championships also wears out a lot mentally.
Sarah Sjöström, on the other hand, is very clear about one thing:
– You should definitely not call it because I step down, but more that I try to find a good balance for the future, she says.
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