Dutch star Marrit Steenbergen swam 51.68 in the 100-meter freestyle final at the Settecolli meet in Rome. It was three hundredths of a second faster than Sjöström's record time from the World Championships in Budapest in July 2017, 51.71.
Steenbergen, 26, was dominant in the women's final, winning by just over eight tenths of a second ahead of Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong (52.52). Italian home swimmer Sara Curtis was third in 52.69.
Sarah Sjöström did not swim the 100 freestyle in Rome. On Friday, she came second in the 50-meter butterfly, with the second-fastest time over the distance in the world this year (25.05). The 50-meter butterfly is the only distance in which Sjöström currently holds the world record (24.43 from Borås in 2014).
Just over a week ago, Sjöström lost the world record in the 50 freestyle after American Kate Douglass swam 23.59 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was two hundredths faster than the super Swede's time from the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2023.
In August last year, Sarah Sjöström became a mother for the first time. This spring she made a comeback. This year's big goal is the European Championships in Paris later this summer.
