Some time away from the pool seems to have worked wonders for Sarah Sjostrom.
The 29-year-old Swedish sprint star returned to sub-25 territory in the 50-meter butterfly at Sunday’s Mare Nostrum Tour stop in Monaco, clocking a world-leading 24.89 to beat France’s Melanie Henique (25.96) by more than a second.
Sjostrom, who owns the top 20 times in the history of the event, tallied the seventh-fastest performance ever after taking a break last autumn and winter to rest in preparation for the 2023 World Championships in July. She also blazed a 23.82 50 freestyle during the same session, which ranks as the 11th-fastest performance ever just .01 seconds off Emma McKeon‘s Olympic record from the last Summer Games in Tokyo.
This is your LIVEBARN Race of the Week because Sjostrom scorched her best 50 fly time since the 2019 World Championships, when she posted a 24.79 in the semifinals, with her 24.89 also surpassing the 24.95 that won her gold at last year’s World Championships. She’s been this fast this early in the season before, but only a few times — from 2015-17 — and not for the past six years.
Sjostrom will turn 30 this August, but she’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon as the favorite to repeat as world champion in both the 50 fly and 50 free this summer in Fukuoka.
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