Sarah Sjostrom Returns to the Pool 3 Weeks After Elbow Surgery

Sarah Sjostrom, one of the world’s best swimmers, returned to the pool on Monday morning, three weeks after undergoing surgery for a broken elbow.

According to a post on her Instagram account, Sjostrom says that she was “just kicking [of] course.”

Courtesy: Sarah Sjostrom/Instagram

Sjostrom broke her elbow in early February when she slipped on ice while visiting a friend in her native Sweden. Shortly thereafter, she underwent surgery to repair the injury, with Swedish team doctor Rene Tour saying that she might not be able to return to her regular training for 3 or 4 months. That worst-case scenario timeline would leave her just a month back in full training to prepare for the Olympic Games.

Screws and a metal plate have been installed in her elbow to help repair it.

• Read more about this type of injury from former college swimmer and orthopaedic surgeon Shawn Trokhan.

Just 2 days after her surgery, Sjostrom posted a video of her with limited mobility of her arm.

Sjostrom won 3 medals at the most recent Olympic Games in Rio in 2016: gold in the 100 fly, silver in the 200 free, and bronze in the 100 free. She is also a 8-time World Champion in long course, 3-time World Champion in short course, 22-time European Champion, and the current World Record holder in 6 events: 50 fly LCM, 100 fly LCM, 50 free LCM, 100 free LCM, 200 free SCM, and 100 fly SCM.

That gives her the most current World Records by a female swimmer and the most current individual World Records by any swimmer (Caeleb Dressel has 8, but 4 are in relays).

Sjostrom was named the MVP of the inaugural season of the ISL in 2019, though she slid to 5th in season 2 after missing a meet due to a lingering back injury. Without missing that meet, her usual scoring pace would have put her between 2nd and 4th in the overall MVP scoring.