Pernille Blume Swims 24.17 in 50 Free While Dealing with “Back Problems”

58TH SETTE COLLI TROPHY

• Friday, June 25th – Sunday, June 27th
• Swimming Stadium of the Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
• LCM (50m)
• Olympic Qualifying Competition
• Start Lists
• Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Recap
• Day 3 Recap
• Results

After winning the 50 free on Sunday at the Sette Colli Trophy in a time of 24.17, Danish sprinter Pernille Blume revealed that she had been dealing with “back problems” all week in the leadup to the race. Those problems, Blume says, kept her out of the 100 free earlier in the meet.

That time for Blume is about a tenth shy of the 24.06 that she swam in May at the European Championships in Budapest, where she tied for silver with Poland’s Kasia Wasick.

Blume has dealt with several health-related issues since winning the Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Games in Rio.

In December, Blume said she suffered a “minor wrist injury“; In April, she spent time out of the water after testing positive for COVID-19; and in 2019, she underwent heart surgery to close a ‘small hole’ in her heart.

In spite of those challenges, Blume is still ahead of the pace she was in the 50 free in the leadup to the Olympic gold in Rio. In her last pre-Olympic swim in the 50 free in 2016, she swam 24.84 in the 50 free.

She beat out two of her primary sprint competitors, too: the European Champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo, who placed 3rd in 24.36, and the World Record holder Sarah Sjostrom (24.25 for 2nd), who is working her way back from a broken elbow.

Watch Blume’s brief post-race interview from Sunday in Rome, captured by SwimSwam Italia’s Giusy Cisale.