RACE VIDEO: Watch Sarah Sjostrom Break European Record in Women’s 100 Fly

Thanks to bobo gigi for chasing down this video.

Full day 1 finals recap here.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom swam the second-fastest 100 meter butterfly in history on Saturday at the 2015 Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, posting a 56.04. The record was hers, and she was only a hair faster than her 2009 56.04, but will be relieved to have broken a six-year drought unable to go a personal best in the event.

The swim also left her only .06 seconds shy of the World Record.

In the above video, we can see that Sjostrom drives forward with an ease and power and very little sign of fatigue into the finishing wall.

While the time is impressive, the stroke is very different than the one she used last year to demolish the World Record in the 50 fly. The two races side-by-side show just how differently the 50 fly technique is evolving from the 100 fly technique – a phenomenon greater in this than in any other stroke

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Joe
9 years ago

It looks to me like Sarah did a great race for 90 meters. Last 2-3 strokes she seems to be fading and that probably caused the poor finish. That’s the part taper will take care of hopefully come Kazan. And if it does, I see her hitting the wall in 55.7-55.8.I also think she could take away some of the breaths, but I’m not sure if that would make her go faster or not, it’s hard to say.

aquajosh
9 years ago

Just look at the outboard motor behind her! She never stops kicking in that 50. I’d bet she has the strongest kick of any female swimmer in the world in any stroke. As one of her Swedish teammates noted, she is one of the few swimmers in the world ever who still kicks down as her hands exit the water. That, coupled with her perfect stroke timing and the strength of her kick make her a swimmer for the ages.

TexasFlyer
9 years ago

Bra jobbat, Sarah!
That 50 fly last year- blistering!
This 100 shows she can adapt!
MIn favorit simmare i år!

sven
9 years ago

Men have started breathing every stroke in the 100 fly, but the women in London stuck to more traditional patterns. Now Sjostrom breathes every stroke basically the whole last 75 and goes a time like that. The only non-breathing strokes I saw were the four or five off the start (which makes sense, it’s within that 8-10 second ATP-CP system window), plus one stroke with her head down at about the 85m mark. The breathing is trending up and the times are trending down. Looks like air is pretty important in the 100s.

sven
Reply to  sven
9 years ago

ATP-PC* whoops

ERVINFORTHEWIN
9 years ago

One of the most talented female swimmers out there with Franklin and Ledecky . Great race

nemofish
9 years ago

240p in 2015! really? Great swim!!!

bobo gigi
9 years ago

I appreciate the effort. 😳
Thanks. 😉

Here’s Dana Vollmer’s gold medal and world record in London.
Total domination
I’m not a specialist but her finish looks awful. She glides so much. How much time has she lost in your opinion? 1 or 2 or 3 tenths of second? Could she add another stroke? Or has she taken the right decision? That’s a detail, we’ll remember the gold medal in 20 years, not the time, but I remember watching live the race and thinking at the end “oh no, too bad that bad finish!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2L12bpUsSs

liquidassets
Reply to  bobo gigi
9 years ago

Well remember the time, too. Vollmer was the first one under 56 seconds, in a time that would have almost won the gold medal in the 100 free only a couple decades earlier.

SwimFanFinland
Reply to  bobo gigi
9 years ago

Yes, Vollmer’s finish seems to have been even worse than Sarah did in her swim yesterday. Lost definitely more than a tenth of a second, probably closer to 3 tenths.

swimhistorian
9 years ago

Wow, she glided in on her last stroke, too. A better finish and she would have had the WR.

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