The 29-year-old Helsingborg swimmer, whose favourite distance is the 100-meter butterfly, will compete at the European Long Course Championships starting on Thursday, and has had a couple of challenging seasons that have been noticeable in his wallet.
In a sport where only the absolute top stars - like Sarah Sjöström - can live well, it is not enough to be just below the world elite.
Louise Hansson has won both European and World Championship gold, swum in the Olympic final in the 100-meter butterfly twice, but has lacked sponsors since the Paris Olympics in 2024.
She has lived on her savings and has now started working at a bank.
It's actually really nice, good to have another place to go and not be a swimmer all the time. Everything is still very new and I have an apprenticeship position, but it's fun to get an insight into the bank, says Hansson, who is a trained economist after years at college in Los Angeles.
“Not a single penny received”
When the money-making ISL tour started in 2019, it was a financial boost for the world's swimmers. Louise Hansson had a successful 2021 season, taking in $60,000, equivalent to approximately SEK 571,000, in prize money.
Money she hasn't seen the smoke of.
My first season is fully paid, but for the second season, which was a great season, I haven't received a single penny yet. Rumour has it that they'll start paying us this year, but I don't know if you can trust that until you get it in your account. No swimmer has received prize money, only starting money, she says.
The hope is that the ISL, which was suspended when Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine began, has presented plans for a restart. Then it will need to pay off its debt to become a credible alternative.
“Hope it gets better”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced earlier this summer that all athletes can receive a grant of around 100,000 kronor when they participate in the Olympics. For Summer Olympians, this will start in Los Angeles 2028.
At the same time, the International Swimming Federation has established a pension fund, but it is based on how many championships you win over a four-year period and how much prize money you collect.
"The fact that progress is being made is something we should be happy with. I don't swim for the money, then many people like me would have already given up. We do it because we think it's fun and I want to see how far I can push myself," she says.
We can only hope that things will get better for each generation that comes after us.
Age: 29.
Club: Helsingborg.
Lives in: Stockholm.
Main achievements, individually in long course: European Championship gold, World Championship and European Championship bronze in the 100 meter butterfly.
Individual short course: World Championship gold in the 100-meter backstroke, World Championship silver in the 100-meter butterfly, World Championship bronze in the 50-meter backstroke, 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter medley, European Championship gold in the 100-meter butterfly, European Championship silver in the 50-meter backstroke and European Championship bronze in the 100 and 200-meter medley and 100-meter butterfly.
