State of Swimming – February 2025 – Register Or Subscribe To Read
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Our February Vortex
Sarah Sjöström, Sweden’s double Olympic freestyle sprint champion of 2024, announced today that she is expecting a child. Winner of the 50 and 100m freestyle titles in Paris last summer, Sjöström was the first Swedish woman to claim gold in the Olympic pool when she took the 10om butterfly crown at the Rio 2016 Games.
She still aims to be at Los Angeles 2028 but the reason why she stated three weeks ago that she won’t be at World titles in Singapore this summer, is now clear: the 31-year-old Swede announced on Instagram that she and her husband, Johan de Jong Skierus, are looking forward to the happy news: the birth of their first child in August. She described her news as the start of “life’s greatest adventure”, which had already included “mentally and physical” difficulties during this first trimester of pregnancy. She added:
“I am more amazed than ever by what women go through. I have always admired the strength of women but now I understand it on a whole new level.”
October 2024
The Marriage of Sarah Sjöstrom & Johan de Jong Skierus
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Sarah Sjöstrom married her boyfriend, Johan de Jong Skierus, a Swedish fencer, in Tuscany, Italy, on Sunday September 29.
The wedding came hot on the heels of Sjöstrom’s fifth and most successful Olympic Games: she claimed gold in the 100m freestyle and then added the 50m freestyle crown on the past day of action at the Paris La Defense Arena. Those two huge prizes joined her the 100m butterfly victory which at Rio 2016 made Sarah the first Swedish woman to claim Olympic gold in the pool.
EventItalian organised the wedding in beautiful Pienza, which lies between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino in the province of Siena and is considered to be the “touchstone of Renaissance urbanism”.
Sarah, who turned 31 a couple of weeks after the swimming in Paris ended in August, and Johan, 35, have been partners for 12 years. Johan is a sabre fencer who has competed for the Swedish national team and won nine national championship medals, including one title. Beyond sport, he worked at the Danska Bank, specialising in anti-money laundering.
Congratulations to the sporting couple. 🏊🤺🍾🥂
- Here’s where you can watch the video of parts of the ceremony and celebrations posted by Sarah on Instagram
- And… some snaps of the lovely day by the photographer Elsa Linnea Lindberg – see more of her work at her own Instagram page
- And Sarah’s Instagram with more snaps and all the details of the designers and others who helped may the couple’s happy day spectacularly so
Also in the February Vortex
- Watch out for Sam Welsh – son of Matt and gathering pace
- “Mine’s Bigger Than Your’s” Competition Hots Up As Aussies Eye LA2028 Vs Brisbane 2028 Rivalry
- South Asian Games 2021 Now Set For 2026
- Michael “The Albatross, Groß Honoured With Germany’s Golden Sports Pyramid for Lifetime Achievement
- Scott, McMillan, Walshe, Hope, Hanlon & Co Have A Bash In Bangor
- German Florian Wellbrock, Aussie Moesha Johnson & Team Germany Top The Billboard At Open Water World Cup
- Virginia Cavaliers Win Sixth-Straight Women’s ACC Title
- Salisbury Plain Sailing For Peaty Power
- WADA Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against USADA
- Chrissi Rawak Is New President & CEO Of USA Swimming
- Brisbane 2032 Olympic Review Advice Due March 25
- Ukraine wins 30 medals at Invictus Games For Injured Soldiers
- Distance Ace Dan Jervis Calls Time On Career In Fast Lane
- Avelino Silva Is Portugal’s Director of International Events
- Mark Chay Steps Up At Singapore Olympic Committee
- Swim of the week gone by: Summer McIntosh takes Commonwealth and Canadian 800m free record and makes the all-time top 10 swims a sub-8:10 club as No2 behind Katie Ledecky – who clocks 15:36 for 16th best 1500 all-time
- Dan Wiffen on Motivation after he joins Ollie Morgan and Angharad Evans in club of triple winners at British Uni Champs
- Sweeps for Olivia Wunsch and Iona Anderson at the ~Victoria State Titles
- What does Sinner’s ‘negotiated’ steroid penalty say about anti-doping integrity
- Siobhan Haughey in line for Hong Kong’s Top Prize For Fourth Year In A Row
- Diogo Ribeiro makes a steady return after rollercoaster 2024
- The French Swim Club That Survived 10 Years Without A Pool
- Aussies smuggle a cheeky gift to Prince Harry
- Roos Vanotterdijk Grabs A Brace of Belgian Records
- Swimming Canada adjusts 2027 calendar after new dates set for Pan Ams
- Florent Manaudou, the French sprint ace, is aiming for gold on the dance floor… his bid gets underway in “Dancing with the Stars 2025” Friday and when asked if he’ll feel fine twirling about bare-chested, he says: “I’m used to it, I spent my entire career in my underwear!”
- More targets for Dan Wiffen & Co: Commonwealth Games 2026 Adds Men’s 800 & Women’s 1500 Free in Glasgow
- Suit Sales Struggle In U.S. After PFAS Ban
- Open Doors: Aquatics GB Boss Invites Athletes Into The Corridors Of Power
- Hugo González on why he thinks he won a Spanish Best Athlete prize ahead of two Olympic medallists in an extensive interview with Albert Sancho at AS that also covers the World 200 back champion’s return to Spain after eight years in the USA; why he chose not to join a performance centre; why he’s set his sights on Singapore Worlds as a stepping stone to a third Olympics campaign in 2028, with believe in his heart that the podium is achievable; and how he misses the people in the U.S. but not the place – and the food and cultural life in Spain when he was away.
- Rob Woodhouse Reveals Plans For New ISL-style Australian Swim League (archive on the backdrop to that) and says Brisbane may become Australian Swimming’s new home if the city gets a new Aquatics Centre for the 2032 Olympics
- Euan Dale Picked As Performance Pathway Lead For Aquatics GB
- Latest From The Wiffens: “How I Nearly Died!” (Not Really)
- A High Five From Beryl Gastaldello At Luxembourg’s Euro Meet
- Ariarne Titmus To Skip Singapore 2025 Worlds But Will Start LA2028 Prep With Coach Dean Boxall In July
- Cate Campbell Has Surgery After ACL Tear While Skiing
- More Speedy swimming from Katie Ledecky
The February Vortex In Full