Sarah Sjostrom: “I Have Become Much More Tolerant when I am in a Little Pain”

With the upcoming Malmsten Swim Open in Stockholm on the horizon (April 9-12), one of the biggest stories will be the return to the pool for new mother Sarah Sjostrom, who, for the first time in more than 600 days, will be back to racing in between the lanelines.

After giving birth to her son Adrian in an ambulance outside of Södersjukhuset on August 26, 2025, Sjostrom has progressively upped her training since first returning to the water just six weeks after the birth of her son.

“It’s been awesome to discover that since becoming a mother, I’m no longer as sensitive to sleep deprivation,” Sjostrom said in a report from Dagens Nyheter, “I would never have been able to maintain the pace that I now maintain during the day despite less sleep before. Back then, I was much more sensitive if I had had a single night of poor sleep. Now I can have a whole week where I slept poorly without it bothering me much.”

She describes the changes that having a child has had on her, including how she is seemingly unfazed by early wake-up calls, a norm (and constant struggle for swimmers at all levels).

“I’m even a little more alert in the mornings now. If I have to get up at half past five in the morning, it’s okay. Before, it was a nightmare if I had to get up before seven.” Sjostrom said. “I have become much more tolerant when I am in a little pain.”

Sjostrom has dealt with several injuries throughout her decorated career; among the most significant was a broken elbow that nearly kept her from competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. In her interview with Dagens Nyheter, she also mentions the frequent back pain she has experienced throughout her career.

“Regardless of whether I had been involved in elite sports or not, I think I would have had back problems. If I had to guess, they might even be less because I train as much as I do.”

In Stockholm, she will be racing for the first time since August 12, 2024, and she admits she expected some question marks following pregnancy and childbirth.

“I really had no idea what it would be like to come back after a pregnancy,” Sjostrom said to Dagens Nyheter. “I knew I needed to do some competitions before the European Championships, and starting at home felt like an easy choice. It makes it easy for the whole family. It’s not that long since I started training, but so far I haven’t had any setbacks, so it feels right to keep going.”

The newest family addition not only changed Sjostrom’s plans but also those of her partner, Johan de Jong Skierus, and the pair have started to formulate schedules and routines that fit their new lifestyle.

“Things are going well, although there have of course been days when the planning didn’t work for various reasons,” Sjostrom added. “The idea is that I will do six or seven swimming sessions every week, but if it is “only” five sessions a week, it is still very good. Because, regardless, I am constantly getting a little better.”

Sjostrom mentions that she feels herself improving every week, a rather unusual feeling for one of the greatest female swimmers ever to put on a cap and goggles.

“Then as now, I constantly compare myself to where I was when I started training again. Not where I was before the injury, or like now before the pregnancy.” Sjostrom said. “We are starting to approach the point where we can talk about “small margins”. If I am a tenth faster in 25s than I was a month ago, that is great.”

The decision to return to the sport after this extended time away also posed its own set of questions: whether she should go through with it or if it was worth it now that she has a bigger responsibility at home, to which Sjostrom admits she had her doubts.

“Some days when there are double swimming sessions, I have thought for a short while about what I am doing?” Sjostrom said. “I never have any problems with swimming and gym in the morning/forenoon. I will probably continue to do that even after I have stopped… In the end, though, I’ve always concluded that it’s worth it. Because I still think it’s a lot of fun, and there’s always something that could be a little better.”