Crowning the Wave: Sarah Sjostrom Named Europe’s Top Female Swimmer!

Explore all our 2024 Swammy Awards right here.

During the Paris Olympic Games, viewers saw Leon Marchand, Summer McIntosh, and Pan Zhanle establish themselves as three of the most prominent figures to follow in global swimming as we head into the next Olympic cycle. These young athletes all achieved a significant milestone in their respective careers during the Games. However, this was not the sole narrative unfolding over the eight days of competition.

Fans also witnessed Swedish icon Sarah Sjostrom cementing her reputation as the sprint queen, capturing gold in both the 50 and 100 freestyle events, thereby securing her second and third Olympic titles. Sjostrom’s remarkable performance in Paris earns her the 2024 Swammy for European Female Swimmer of the Year. She was the sole European woman to stand atop the podium in the swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Leading up to the 2024 Olympic Games, Sjostrom concentrated on the 50 freestyle but didn’t initially plan to display her dominance in the 50 butterfly. Consequently, many were taken aback to see her on the entry list for the 100 freestyle. Even after participating in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay, Sjostrom remained uncertain about swimming the event, but her coach “urged” her, resulting in a late entry that transformed into an Olympic gold from lane seven, marking one of the memorable moments of the Games.

“I never imagined a 30-year-old woman could win this event. I believed you had to be, I don’t know, 20 or something,” Sjostrom stated to NBC Sports. “I have accomplished a lot in my career, but never have I surprised myself as much as I did here.”

Sjostrom holds the world record in the women’s 100 freestyle, but this event marked her first Olympic title and her second overall in this distance. In Rio, she claimed her first Olympic gold in the women’s 100 butterfly (an event where she previously held the world record).

As much as Sjostrom astonished herself in the 100 freestyle, her dominance in the 50 freestyle came as no surprise. Sjostrom has recorded sub-24 seconds in the 50 freestyle a total of 39 times over her career, including her three swims in Paris. She holds the top seven performances in this event, having achieved five of them in the last year and a half.

Sjostrom led the competition throughout all three rounds of the 50 freestyle at the Games. She set an Olympic record of 23.66 in the semifinals before clinching her first Olympic gold in the event with a time of 23.71. Her Olympic record currently stands as the third-fastest time ever, while her final result ranks as the seventh-fastest.

The Paris Olympics marked the high point of Sjostrom’s year, but she also competed in the 2024 World Championships, where she won gold in both the 50 freestyle and butterfly. At the 2023 World Championships, Sjostrom surpassed Michael Phelps to become the most decorated swimmer at the long-course World Championships. With her two victories in Doha, she widened her lead in that ranking, now boasting 23 World Championship medals.

Swimming enthusiasts frequently regard Olympic medals as a standard for measuring greatness in the sport. Sjostrom’s unwavering speed throughout her illustrious career has earned her the title of “sprint queen” with the solitary Olympic medal draped around her neck. By capturing Olympic gold in the sprint freestyle events for the first time, Sjostrom fortified her legacy as one of the sport’s most illustrious sprinters.

Honorable Mentions:

• Isabel Gose, Germany: Isabel Gose has steadily progressed in the women’s distance freestyle events over the past few years, consistently reaching finals at the World Championship level. She peaked for Paris, commencing the Games with a fifth-place finish and a national record in the 400 freestyle (4:02.14). Gose also finished fifth in the 800 freestyle, but her Games’ highlight was the 1500 freestyle, where she captured her first Olympic medal, taking bronze in a German record of 15:41.16. Earlier in the year, Gose earned her first medals at Worlds, securing silver in the 800 freestyle and bronze in the 400/1500 freestyle. The 22-year-old concluded her year by winning her first World title, finishing first in the women’s 1500 freestyle at the 2024 Short Course World Championships. She also earned silver in the 800 freestyle during the week-long championships in Budapest.
• Anastasiya Kirpichnikova, France: La Défense Arena erupted like never before than when a French swimmer secured an Olympic medal. The home nation enjoyed a successful Paris Games, and Kirpichnikova–who began representing France in 2023–was the only female swimmer to contribute to France’s medal count. Like Gose, Kirpichnikova specializes in distance swimming and found herself in a fierce contest with the German swimmer throughout the women’s 1500 freestyle final. Kirpichnikova pulled ahead of Gose, ultimately taking silver with a French record of 15:40.35.

PAST WINNERS

• 2023 Swammy — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania
• 2022 Swammy — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
• 2021 Swammy – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
• 2020 Swammy – Beryl Gastaldello, France
• 2019 Swammy – Katinka Hosszu, Hungary
• 2018 Swammy — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
• 2017 Swammy — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
• 2016 Swammy — Katinka Hosszu, Hungary
• 2015 Swammy — Katinka Hosszu, Hungary
• 2014 Swammy — Katinka Hosszu, Hungary