Sarah Sjostrom Headlines 16 Swimmer Swedish Roster for the 2023 World Championships

The Swedish Swimming Federation has announced a squad of 16 swimmers who will represent the country at the 2023 World Championships this summer. 

The squad includes seven women and seven men, along with one male and one female alternate, who may be called-upon to participate in the relay events. Of those swimmers, 10 are individually qualified to compete, while 4 are set to compete as relay-only swimmers.

Superstar Sarah Sjostrom headlines the roster after already pre-qualifying for the meet via her performances at the 2022 World Championships. Sjostrom recently posted strong performances at the 2023 Mare Nostrum Tour, throwing down times of 24.89 in the 50 fly and 23.82 in the 50 free. Both times rank among the top performances ever in their respective events, proving that Sjostrom is at the top of her game. Though her event lineup is undetermined, one can speculate that she’ll most likely contest the 50 free, 50 fly, 100 free, and 100 fly, with the possibility of adding on multiple relays and the 200 free. 

Sisters Louise Hansson and Sophie Hansson are also making their return to the World Championships stage. With both Hansson sisters competing, Sweden will be in a strong position to challenge for medals in the medley relays, with Louise another top butterflier and Sophie the gold medalist in the 100 breaststroke at the 2020 European Championships. 

Cal star Bjorn Seeliger and 2022 World Championship medalist Erik Persson lead the men’s side of the team. Seeliger, a multi-time NCAA Champion, will look to make an impact on the country’s freestyle relays, proving to be a key-member of the team for several years. Persson will look to better his silver-medal winning performance in the 200 breaststroke, battling a tight field for the gold medal. 

“This competition is an important starting point for next year’s Olympics, and I am happy to be able to present a squad consisting of seven girls and seven boys,” said Swedish Swimming Federation captain Martina Aronsson.  “We have ten individually qualified swimmers and four team race swimmers in the squad. This year we have also chosen to take out two reserves who are ready to be part of the women’s 4×100 medley and men’s 4×100 freestyle relays.” 

“Pre-nominated swimmers Sarah Sjostrom, Louise Hansson and Erik Persson have had good training preparations and showed good form at competitions during the spring, which among other things was shown during the Mare Nostrum competitions last week. Other swimmers on the squad have also taken important steps forward during the season, and are now focusing on honing their form and continuing with the final preparations for the competitions.”

“Considering last year’s success and the strong performances of the swimmers, the squad has hopes of winning several medals at the WC.”

Swedish World Championship Roster: 

Women:

• Michelle Coleman, Spårvägen S
• Louise Hansson, Helsingborgs S
• Sophie Hansson, Helsingborgs S
• Sara Junevik, Falu SS
• Hanna Rosvall, Helsingborgs S
• Sarah Sjostrom, Södertörns S
• Sofia Astedt, SK Elfsborg

Men:

• Isak Eliasson, Spårvägen S
• Robin Hanson, Spårvägen S
• Oskar Hoff, Landskrona S
• Victor Johansson, Jönköpings SS
• Elias Persson, Malmö KK
• Erik Persson, Kungsbacka SS
• Bjorn Seeliger, SK Neptun

Reserves: 

• Olivia Klint Ipsa, Kristianstads SLS (4×100 medley)
• Marcus Holmqvist, Jönköpings SS (4×100 frisim)