She won double gold during the Paris Olympics.
It hasn’t changed anything for Sarah Sjöström – who now reveals the plans for the future.
– I have never been one to make precise plans, she tells DN.
After the summer’s efforts during the Olympics in Paris, there was absolutely no doubt. Sarah Sjöström is one of our greatest athletes of all time, along with names like Ingemar Stenmark, Björn Borg and JO Waldner. Sjöström had his big breakthrough as a 14-year-old, and after that the medals have completely poured in during championship after championship.
Great Olympic success
Nowadays, Sarah Sjöström even chooses disciplines that had been clear medal chances for her, partly because she has “already broken the world record a thousand times”, but also so that her body can last longer, and her career is thus extended. During this summer’s Olympics, the idea was that she would only compete in one individual event, the 50 meter freestyle.
But since the schedule was kind, she chose, with only days’ notice, to also compete in the 100 meter freestyle. And it would prove to be a real hit. Sjöström already showed in the trials that she could compete with the very best, and in a thrilling final she finished the strongest and won the second Olympic gold of her career. After that, Sarah Sjöström has treated herself to a small rest period, with sleep-in mornings and long breakfasts.
– The Olympics are such a discharge that you are quite exhausted physically, but when someone like me has been around for a while, you know that it will pass, she tells DN.
Confirming now
Before this summer’s Olympics, Sarah Sjöström was clear that her goal going forward has always been to compete in the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles, USA. If there is anyone who was afraid that she changed her mind when she was so incredibly successful during the summer games, there is reassuring news. Sarah still intends to swim in LA in four years – but she doesn’t know what the journey will look like.
– I have never been one to make a precise plan from one Olympics to another. So when I say that I don’t really know what I’m going to do, it’s because I never really know right after the Olympics, says Sarah Sjöström.
The next thing for Sarah Sjöström is marriage, when she and Johan de Jong Skierus will marry in Italy. A total of three days of celebration await in September.
– It feels like things are under control, so I mostly think it will be wonderful, she says.
Sign up for our newsletter
Share