Sarah Sjostrom surrounded by simlandslaget in Netanya. Photo: Marcus Ericsson / TT
Netanya Most of the Swedish simlandslaget stands and stares down on the small screen. It’s only a minute left until the announcement will come and Sarah Sjostrom and the other swimmers comply with the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet live on a mobile phone. So it is clear. The celebrations know no boundaries.
– Thank you very much. What a huge surprise. I thought myself that the U21 would win, says Sarah Sjostrom and get a giant bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne in hand. The smile can hardly be broader, but then begins his teammates cheer again.
– I had not really expected it this time. I find it hard to understand that I could surpass 2009 when I won the World Championship gold at age 15, says Sarah Sjostrom, who nevertheless agrees that 2015 is his best year to date.
And what a year ago . Double world record favorite distance 100 meters butterfly during långbane Championships in Russian Kazan. First, during the semi-final, and then a new record in the finals the following day. Total became the double world championship gold medals, two silver and one bronze. Moreover, one must reckon with the three World Championship gold and the silver medal as she took in the short runway Championship which was held in Doha in December last year, because the championship took place after last year bragdguld been distributed.
Not surprisingly to obey the expert jury’s verdict “For explosive power of will and double world record”.
We are on simlandslagets hotel outside Netanya someone mil north of Tel Aviv. Here the short runway Championships begin on 2 December, and Sarah Sjostrom and the other swimmers are about to upload.
– A bragdguld spikes course up and makes me even more motivated to do well in the competition hair. I get to celebrate by winning the European Cup, says Sjostrom, who says it feels very “honorable” to receive the award. Not least because there are experts on the jury that chose her.
Sarah Sjostrom broke through already 14 years old when she took her first European Championship gold. The story is narrated many times, the piquant point is that she did it on Easter break and then went home and went to school as usual. Sjostrom laughs and says that it feels like it was not she who chose swimming, but it was swimming that chose her. Yet it is a medal that is missing from the collection. An Olympic gold medal. She had tonsillitis before charging to the London Olympics in 2012. The focus is now on Rio de Janeiro next summer.
– If the preparations only go as I want, I can swim in no time. It is precisely to prepare as it is tough. To compete is easy, says Sarah Sjostrom and points out that, despite their own world records available much time to retrieve the 100 meters butterfly. She knows what it is that she needs to improve further. “Small things” like how to get into the wall at the finish, which may nevertheless make a big difference. And so it is important to continue to train hard. 48-49 weeks a year.
So how scared she is then getting sick again, facing this OS?
– I will not be afraid. I rarely get sick. I would go around and worry about it, then I think you are ill, she says. It is more about the big picture. Eating right and exercising, and not to stress in everyday life. It must work well.
– But of course, I may not need to embark on a kindergarten or hospital and start hugging people. It feels a bit unnecessary, says 22-year-old.
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