Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden has announced via Instagram that she will no longer be competing at the 2018 Short Course World Championships in Hangzhou, China this December. The 25-year-old sprint ace will still compete at the three upcoming FINA World Cup Series stops in Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore, with her final competition of the year being that of the Energy For Swim in Turin December 20th-21st.
Last August, Sjostrom was pre-nominated to the Swedish roster for Hangzhou along with Louise Hansson, Sophie Hansson, Victor Johansson and Erik Persson.
After winning Short Course World Championships titles in the 200m free, 50m fly and 100m fly in 2014 in Doha, Sjostrom skipped the 2016 edition in Windsor. Picking up 200m free gold that year was Italy’s Federica Pellegrini, while Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen and Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu won gold in the women’s 50m and 100m fly events, respectively.
Sjostrom currently ranks #1 in the world in the SCM 50m fly (24.61) and 200m free (1:51.60), while also ranking #2 across the 50m free (23.36), 100m free (51.21) and 100m fly (54.91).
You can read the Swede’s Instagram announcement in full below:
No one cares about SCM or SCY besides Americans.
I am not surprised. She is incredible while swimming, but has a lot to improve in the start and in underwaters. Admitted as much when losing to Kelsi Dahlia recently. Her goal is firmly set on Tokyo and worlds LCM is a stepping stone. She has won so much, set so many records but she wants olympic golds. Better spend time to improve LCMtechnique than splashing around in chine even if it is worlds.
I don’t remember. Did Phelps ever swim a SCM Worlds?
He swam SC Worlds in Indianapolis in 2004.
Have you seen the USA roster for sc Worlds? I haven’t!
yea, right, no roster has been revealed yet.
anyone know when? It’s like two months away. Really I mostly want to see Dressel race a tapered SCM meet…
Kelsi dahlia should be first or second in fly events now with Ikee
This championship will be noticed by absentees as much as those who swim…
Clearly not to interested in ‘titles’ beyond Olympic and world LC.
Make money, she could easily compete at world SC and still prepare for worlds long course.
How’s got there priorities right ?
Make money on World Cup and skip worlds ?
Skip World Cup/money and go worlds?
Either way swimming loses.
Bet chad does the lot.
She is swimming for Energy Standard. They have plenty of money….don’t feel for her losing out on Worlds prize money. She is doing a lot of travel. Her schedule isbalot to handle
World Cup money is substantially larger than SCW money.
And she already said she’s swimming the World Cup for money. Will make something like $700k last year and this, money she’s using to buy apartments for her siblings(her words).
exactly said guys
that criticism misses the point completely – she does not care what u think is best for here – thats 100 % sure .
I don’t get it. she must have more money than she needs cuz I would imagine that her sponsors are not happy about this.
she is free to feel what is right anyway ….so she is strong to do so
she trains with energy standard in turkey…. seems like a kinda easy decision for her to swim at their sponsored meet.
I think some Energy Standard swimmers will swim at both, such as Le Clos and Kolesnikov.