2023 WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
- July 23 to 30, 2023
- Fukuoka, Japan
- Marine Messe Fukuoka
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- SwimSwam Preview Index
Sveriges Television AB (SVT), Sweden’s public television broadcaster, has released its television schedule for the 2023 World Championships. Included in the article is the Swedish roster as well as their entries for the meet. It should be noted that in the press release by Svenska Simförbundet (the Swedish Swimming Federation) no events were listed.
Per SVT, superstar and multiple World Record holder, Sarah Sjostrom, will only swim the 50 fly and 50 free, individually. Last year in Budapest she won the 50s free (23.98) and fly (24.95) as well as placing 2nd in the 100 free (52.80).
Over the years, Sjostrom has been slowly dropping events from her schedule. Her last 200 free in a major competition was in 2019. While she did contest the 100 fly in Tokyo after breaking her elbow earlier in the year, she only placed 7th in the final in a time of 56.91, well off her world record. In the lead-up to the Budapest World Championships, she announced that she would not swim the 100-fly.
To keen followers of Sjostrom’s results, the dropping of the 100 free may not come as a surprise. At the first stop of the Mare Nostrum Tour in Canet-en-Roussillon, she only swam the 100 in the prelims, scratching out of the final. At the third stop in Monaco, she did not swim the 100 free at all. On the other hand, at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome a few weeks ago, Sjostrom did place 2nd (53.05) to Siobhan Haughey (52.64) in the 100 free, so while it may seem like preparation for the individual 100 free, it may have been in preparation for the relay events.
In the world rankings, Sjostrom currently sits 8th in the world rankings with a time of 52.99 from April. Atop those rankings is the Australian Mollie O’Callaghan’s 52.48 from the Aussie Trials, Haughey’s 52.50 from the Mare Nostrum, and Emma Mckeon’s 52.52 from the Aussie Trials.
Sjostrom’s place in the world rankings in the 50s is a different story. She has the only sub-24.00 time this season in the free, touching in 23.82 in Monaco. At that same meet, she also registered the only sub-25.00 this season in the fly, touching in 24.89.
In addition to the individual events, the article lists that she could also swim on both the women’s and mixed relays (to note, all athletes have this listed next to their name). At last year’s Worlds, Sjostrom joined the team of Hanna Rosvall, Sophie Hansson, and Louise Hansson placing 3rd (3:57.81) in the prelims of the 4×100 medley relay and 4th (3:55.96) in finals with Sjostrom swimming the free, splitting 53.11 in the former and 52.66 in the latter. In the mixed 4×100 free relay, the Swedish team of Robin Hanson (49.31), Isak Eliasson (48.78), Sofia Astedt (55.71), and Sara Junevik (55.23) placed 10th in prelims with a time of 3:29.03.
The Swedes could put together a strong mixed freestyle relay this summer. Michelle Coleman has a season-best of 54.26 and along with Sjostrom’s 52.99 makes for a formidable backhalf. The two most likely to join them on this potential relay would be Cal-products Robin Hanson and Bjorn Seeliger. Their season-best time of 49.69 and 48.80 gives Sweden a cumulative time of 3:25.74 (from only flat-starts), which would have been good for 7th last year.
The full roster as found on the SVT website is copied below (as translated by Google):
Women:
- Michelle Coleman, Spårvägen S (50 free, 100 free, Team, Team mixed)
- Louise Hansson, Helsingborgs S (100 butterfly, 50 back, Team, Team mixed)
- Sophie Hansson, Helsingborgs S (50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breast, Team, Team mixed)
- Sara Junevik, Falu SS (50 butterfly, Team, Team mixed)
- Hanna Rosvall, Helsingborgs S (100 back, Team, Team mixed)
- Sarah Sjöström, Södertörns S (50 butterfly, 50 free, Team, Team mixed)
- Sofia Åstedt, SK Elfsborg (200 free, Team, Team mixed)
Men:
- Isak Eliasson, Spårvägen S (Team, Team mixed)
- Robin Hanson, Spårvägen S (200 free, Team, Team mixed)
- Oskar Hoff, Landskrona S (50 butterfly, 100 butterfly, Team, Team mixed)
- Elias Persson, Malmö KK (Team, Team mixed)
- Erik Persson, Kungsbacka SS (100 breast, 200 breast, Team, Team mixed)
- Björn Seeliger, SK Neptun (50 free, 100 free, 50 back, Team, Team mixed)
Reserves:
- Olivia Klint Ipsa, Kristianstads SLS (Reserve team)
- Marcus Holmqvist, Jönköpings SS (Reserve team)
Sweedish?
Tough getting old, also shes gota alot of relays coming her way prob. GL!
she’s washed up now
This makes me sad. Wish she’d swim the 100FLY and FR.
What are the predictions for Sweden’s 4×100 Medley?
The same team of Rosvall, Hansson, Hansson, and Sjostrom won European gold last summer in 3:55.25, but that still would have placed 4th at Worlds. With Sjostrom eschew the fly, they are pretty locked into this order and roster. Perhaps they could slide Coleman into the back. With no backstroker under 59.5 it’ll be hard to break into the medals when competing against the likes of Smith, McKeown and Masse, but with the Aussies and Canadians breastroke foibles and and 1:05s from S. Hansson instead of 1:06s it could be very interesting
Much more than MA, she is the poster child for inclusion of the 50’s at the Olympics/pro field needing them and making a very nice career off them being a sprinter akin to track runners who specialize in the 100.
If you follow her on IG, she clearly has her career for the long term figured out and life balance to aid this.
What a shame we may never get to see her race (and win) a 50 Fly at an Olympiad.
She will be key to Swedish relay success and she knows this. So maybe dropping the 100 is prescribing to “the good of the many outweigh the good of the few. Or the one.”
Popovicitis?
That’s almost comical. When has she ever ducked an opponent? She’s raced everyone sick, injured, you name it.
She’s taken losses when she didn’t have to because she’s such a competitor.
Who out there do you think the fastest woman alive has to fear? She is her own gold standard.
Are you really suggesting that the person who wasn’t afraid to take peak Katie Ledecky deep into the pain cave in the 200 free at the 2016 Olympics is ducking her competition? More likely, she’s managing her energy to help Sweden’s relays get qualified for the Olympics and also put herself in the best position to possibly break her own 50 free WR.
Will it be only these events from here on out? Has she entered the Therese Alshammar phase of her career?