‘Not greedy’ Sjostrom all in for 50m freestyle gold at Paris

DOHA: Swedish swimming titan Sarah Sjostrom has cleared the decks on her Olympic programme to give her the best chance to bow out with gold in the women’s 50 metres freestyle at Paris, saying she feels no need to chase more medals.

Sjostrom was entered in the 100m freestyle at the World Championships in Doha but elected not to compete, focusing instead on her 50m title defence and bidding for a sixth successive gold in the non-Olympic 50m butterfly.

She confirmed on Friday that the 50m freestyle will be her sole bid for individual glory at Paris, three years after taking silver in the event at the COVID-delayed Tokyo Games. “I don’t really enjoy the 100 and I don’t want to get too greedy,” the 30-year-old told reporters at the Aspire Pool in Doha on Friday.

“I could probably still be very competitive in the 100 fly (butterfly) if I wanted to. “It sounds weird but for me it doesn’t really make any difference if I win two medals or four medals.

“I’m super happy with one medal, do you understand?” Sjostrom holds world records in the 50 and 100m freestyle, and the 100m butterfly, along with a 100m butterfly gold medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics.