Sweden completes the 2022 World Cup list

Sugar Mizzy May 23, 2022

The Swedish Swimming Sports Association (Swedish Swimming Sports) has revealed its list of 13 swimmers who are on their way to the FINA Long Course World Championships 2022 which was held June 18-25 in Budapest, Hungary.

Eight of Sweden’s 13 team members made the trip to the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Top of the list is Olympic gold medalist and four-time world record holder Sarah Sjöström, the most decorated female swimmer in Long Course World Championships history with 16 individual medals. Only Michael Phelps has more with 20. The 28-year-old Sjöström takes on a lighter load at his seventh world championship this summer, choose to skip the 100 fly to focus on the 50 fly, 50 free and 100 free.

She has four gold medals at the World Cup and another at the Olympics in the 100 fly, but she had not been in 56 seconds since the World Cup 2017. With four other women who broke that mark last year – Maggie MacNeil, Zhang Yufei, Torri Huskeand Emma McKeon – it is becoming the new standard for global medals. At the same time, Sjöström is looking for his fourth 50 fly title in a row and his fourth 100 free title in the last five competitions.

Muscle atrophy caused by a broken elbow last year limited Sjöström at the Olympics in Tokyo. She said it affected her fly more than her freestyle, a claim supported by her 7th place in the 100 fly and 2nd place in the 50 free.

Twice Olympian Louise Hansson is looking forward to gaining momentum on its first major individual gold medal from the December World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi. The 25-year-old former NCAA champion at USC swam the first leg (25.91) of the women’s 200 medley relay to help Sweden break the world record of 1: 42.38. Less than two hours later, Hansson broke a new Swedish record of 100 backstroke (55.20) and took home his second gold.

Her younger sister, Sophie Hansson – also two-time Olympian – received a bronze medal in the 50-breasts at the same meeting. At this year’s NCAA Championship, the 23-year-old finished third in both 100 and 200 breaststroke a year after winning both titles. Sophie, who recently moved training bases from NC State to Loughborough, also took bronze in the 100 breaststroke on the Mare Nostrum Tour in Monaco on Saturday.

Twice Olympian Erik Persson still improves at age 28. He shaved 0.41 seconds from his own Swedish national record with 2: 02.39 in the men’s short track meter 200 breaststroke in September last year. Last summer in Tokyo, he reached the final in the 200 breaststroke and ended up in 8th place. Persson also holds national records in short course 100 breasts (57.83), long course 100 breasts (1: 00.08), and long course 200 breasts (2: 07.66).

Tokyo Olympian Emelie Fast is the youngest member of the World Cup team at 18 years while Sjöström is the oldest at 28. A commitment from the University of Tennessee for the 2023-24 season, the aptly named Fasten reached the semifinals in 100 breaststroke and 100 IM at the World Short Course Championships in December.

A pair of Tokyo Olympians – 23-year-old distance freestyler Victor Johansson and triple Olympian Michelle Coleman – missing in Sweden’s WC squad.

At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Sweden sent seven swimmers to compete and took home five medals – one gold, two silver and two bronze – all won by Sjöström. Sweden has not had any other medalist than Sjöström at the event since 2015.

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