A day after posting a pair of sizzlers, Sarah Sjostrom was back at it again in the women’s 100-meter fly at the 2016 Swedish Open in Stockholm.
Sjostrom unleashed a blistering time of 55.68 for the win. That’s the second-fastest time ever, behind only Sjostrom’s world record 55.64.
Comparative splits:
Sjostrom, WR: 26.17, 55.64 (29.47)
Sjostrom, Today: 26.01, 55.68 (29.67)
Sjostrom now owns the top three times ever with a 55.64, 55.68 and 55.74, while Dana Vollmer is the only other sub-56 swimmer with a 55.98.
“I never thought I could swim so well today,” Sjostrom told Eurosport. “I did not realize I was that close. I was faster than this morning. It’s nice that I can swim this time, despite not feeling well this morning.”
55.68 Race Footage:
Here’s Sjostrom’s world record video from the 2015 World Championships:
Svetlana Chimrova placed second in 57.82 to move to eighth in the world, while Kristel Vourna tied Natalia Lovtcova for third with 59.39s.
Ruta Meilutyte smoked the women’s 50-meter breast in 30.13 for the top-ranked swim in the world. Sophie Hansson turned in a 30.98 for second to move to fifth in the world as the 18-year-old also set a Swedish national junior record. Natalia Ivaneeva earned third in 31.24 to move to 10th in the world.
Cameron van der Burgh uncorked a 59.61 to win the men’s 100-meter breast. That swim moved him to second in the world behind Adam Peaty’s 59.55. Erik Persson took second in 1:01.06 with Marco Koch placing third in 1:01.09.
Meanwhile, Kacper Majchrzak topped the men’s 200-meter free in 1:48.55 with Adam Paulsson taking second in 1:49.49. Alex di Giorgio placed third in 1:49.61.
Viktoria Zeynep Gunes claimed the women’s 400-meter IM in 4:39.53. Stina Gardell placed second in 4:44.76 with Paula Zukowska finishing third in 4:46.91.
Henrik Christiansen demolished his Norwegian record in the men’s 1500-meter free with a 14:53.77. That swim crushed his 15:02.37 from the 2015 World Championships, and moved him to third in the world this year. Filip Zaborowski finished second in 15:25.95 with Victor Johansson taking third in 15:32.53.
Anastasia Fesikova captured the women’s 100-meter back crown in 1:00.24, while Simona Baumrtova placed second in 1:00.50. Eyglo Osk Gustafsdottir finished third overall in 1:00.91.
Piero Codia moved to fifth in the world rankings in the men’s 100-meter fly with a 52.22. Simon Sjodin took ninth in the world with a 52.53. Pawel Korzeniowski finished third in 52.79.
Tomasz Polewka claimed the men’s 50-meter back in 25.39 with Apostolos Christou (25.41) and Matteo Milli (25.61) taking second and third.
Again again n again…. The greatest of all times butterfly ♕
The GREATEST woman butter flyer of all-time is America’s own sweetheart, Mary T. Meager, who, when she did that 57.83-2:95.86 wr- double at the U.S. Nationals in Brown Deer 35 years ago was all if 10 years old. Ok. Just kidding. She was 16 by then but those standards lasted for eons.
Don’t get nd wrong. Sjostrom is amazing and she could get Spitz’s record from Munich ( 54.27) before she hangs ’em up but Mary T. willl always be
numero uno.
No need to take my word for it. Just ask the Universitty of Alabama coach. I’m sure he has a few thoughts on the subject.
Incidentally…Sjostrom’s 26.17 50 split matched what she swam en route to her wr- 55.64.
And former world 100 free co- champ Alexisandra Herrasimenia broke her NR in 50 back from Rome 27.57) w/a 27.52 last night.
Guess there’s still some life left in those ok’d legs of hers.
Bill is correct. Mary T. is the greatest female butterflyier. BUT; Ms. Sjoestrom is catching up to Mary, and we can safely call her the second greatest butterflyer of all time. If she can break Liu Zige’s 2:01.1 something, then lets have this conversation. But i don’t think anyone will break Liu’s record for another 5 to 6 years. Sjoestrom will be done swimming by then….
Swimmer 01: Sjostrom’s 50 fly record may stand for a very long time, quite possibly decades aswell. Other girls have to start cracking 25 LET ALONE 24.4. Two years and counting.. She could set the bar in the 100 fly for quite some time too, especially if she were to crack 55. But that’s a story for another day. Don’t see why she would need a 200 time for anything, which see doesn’t swim anyway.
Championship-wise, Sarah looks to be the more decorated swimmer, but needs that olympic gold. 200 as an olympic distance carries a fair bit more weight than 50, but 100 is the queen event and Sarah has three LCM gold there already. 200 fly history is not that rich with superstars on the women’s side, it’s been an event with a lot of one-hitters. Tough event to train for without putting other, more prestigious, events in the backseat. So not really worth it for someone like Sjostrom, but if she tried I think sub 2 would be in the charts when you put together her capabilities in the 100 fly & 200 free. It all comes down to if any star wants to take a real crack at it, but right now it’s a low prio event for Hosszu basically and that’s it.
True. I believe that if Sjostrom wanted to do that event, she would break the world record, first doing 2:03’s and then i could see her doing a 2:00. If she went out in 59 seconds, and back in 1.02, it is conceivable.
And that 50 fly record, so true. The video of her breaking that world record in Sweden is amazing. Like commentators have said, if Ledecky wasn’t in Kazan, she would be the swimmer of the meet. Gold in 100, Silver in the 200 free, Bronze in the 100 free, and if i recall correctly, she got two relay medals as well right?