Sjostrom prides himself on being able to “handle all the pressure in the world” at 50 Florida

2024 World Aquatics Championships

“I don’t know why everyone says it’s easy or makes it look easy,” he said. sarah sjostrom After an incredible six-game winning streak in the women’s 50 butterfly at the World Championships.

The 30-year-old Swedish superstar has been trying to achieve dominance in the event for nearly a decade. To find another world champion, you have to go back to the 2013 World Championship in Barcelona, ​​which was won by Denmark. Janet Ottesen I won (25.24). Sjostrom did not race at these championships, instead winning the 100 fly and winning the silver medal in the 100 free.

In 2014, Sjostrom set an incredible world record of 24.43 seconds. And since the 2015 World Championships, she has been unstoppable at the highest level of the event. She won her historic gold medal in her 24.63 seconds. This is her third fastest swim and third fastest performance of all time. After today’s final, she now holds the record for the most in tournament history with 24.

But with dominance also comes pressure. “Imagine, you go into a match and everyone expects you to win. If you don’t win, it’s a disaster. So it’s not an easy thing to do… In fact, it’s one of the hardest things you can do,” Sjostrom shared after the race, detailing what it was like for her to make it to the finals.

“It’s easy to win the first time. It’s very easy to win the second time, but it gets harder and harder every time you play, and it’s hard to keep dealing with it consistently. [sic] pressure. ”

Sjostrom was happy with his time, saying, “It was a really good race,” but seemed most proud of himself and how well he managed his expectations. “I’m proud to have proven to myself that I can handle all the pressures in the world,” she explained.

She’s not out of the woods yet. On the final day of the 2024 World Championships, she will compete for her second consecutive gold medal in the 50m freestyle for the fourth time in her career. With less than a year left to break her own world record in this event, she is well positioned to win her new title. Fresh off her 50 fly medal ceremony, she clocked 23.90 seconds, leading her to the finals as the only woman under the 24-second barrier.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the pressure will be on tomorrow as well. But today, Sjostrom continued to show why she is one of the best sprinters in swimming history. She has been a dominant force for almost a decade. And by proving to herself that she can consistently handle the pressure that comes with being at the top of the field, she’s showing exactly why she’s been at the top for so long.

quick hit

• He was the top podium finisher in Europe in the men’s 100 fly.teenager Diogo Matos Ribeiro He continued his impressive performance in Doha, winning his second gold medal of the tournament.It seemed like the winner would be decided. Nils Korstanje, led the race until the final few meters. But Ribeiro kept his head down and charged forward. Although Corstanje had a poor finish, Ribeiro took advantage and won with a new Portuguese record of 51.17 points. He improved his record to 51.30 seconds in the semifinals. Simon Butcher and Jakub Majerski Ribeiro also overtook Korstanje towards the end of the race, giving Austria their second medal and Poland their first.
• In the chaos of the match, Vladislav Bukhov He recovered from a slow start to win the men’s 50m freestyle, beating the previous two world champions. Cameron McEvoy and Ben Proud. Bukhov was slower than the Ukrainian record of 21.38 in the semi-finals, but his 21.44 was enough to beat McEvoy by a hundredth. This is Ukraine’s first medal at these world championships, and also the first of Bukhov’s career.
• Sjostrom was the only woman to run under 24 seconds in the women’s 50m free semifinal. Kasia Wasic She came close to breaking through that barrier for the first time in her career. Wasik won her first semi-final with a time of 24.01 seconds, setting a new Polish record in the process. Her old standard was 24.11 seconds, which she swam in the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships.
• After early disappointment in the match, both men Ruta Meirtite and Benedetta Pilate She got her revenge in the women’s 50m breaststroke. Both went into the competition as the final two world champions in the 100m breaststroke, but neither made it to the Doha final as Meiltite missed the semi-finals and Pilate finished ninth. Both qualified for the 50 breast final and are back on track. World record holder Meiltite scored 29.42 points, beating the second seed by a wide margin and taking the number one seed. Mr. Tozentei 29.80. Pilate also broke 30 seconds and qualified third with a time of 29.91 seconds.
• Italian Simona Cuadarella and german Isabel Gorse They had a great race in the women’s 800m freestyle. It was a close race with neither able to sway the other, but Cuadarella doubled Gosse’s distance by just 0.09 seconds. Cuadarella won both of Italy’s gold medals at the Games, while Gosse won medals in the 400/800/1500 events and has been the driving force behind Germany’s medal wins at the Games.

Other continental and national records

• During the heated competition in the women’s 50m breaststroke, Silje Sringstadli broke her Norwegian record. Sringstadli had set his standard score at 30.91 points at the LEN European U23 competition held in August 2023, but he lowered that to 30.86 points here in Doha, shaving five-hundredths off the mark. .

European medal table up to day 7