The Short Course European Championships in Lublin, Poland start on Tuesday, continue all week and are broadcast on SVT.
Sarah Sjöström is still missing, but has started the work of returning after giving birth. She is aiming for a championship comeback at the European Long Course Championships in Paris in August.
She was also missing this summer when Sweden had its worst long-distance World Championships in 39 years and was medalless for the first time since 1986. Sjöström's plan is to continue beyond the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but Sweden needs to replenish from below.
She has meant a lot to Swedish swimming over the past 17 years and has been involved in 95 percent of all international medals in long course. We need to find who Sweden is without Sarah and also Michelle (Coleman) and that is a process. So that is why it is so nice that there are new young swimmers on both the boys and girls side who have taken steps this autumn, says Aronsson.
The men dominate
Especially on the men's side – there are more boys than girls in the squad – a lot has happened and of the ten championship debutants, nine are men.
The qualifying times for the European Championships are set with a target time for the semi-finals (16th place) from the 2023 European Short Course Championships.
In addition to the new ones, there are also experienced swimmers such as Victor Johansson, Louise Hansson and Sara Junevik. Johansson was the only one who performed well in the World Championships with three Swedish records and a fourth place in the 400 meter freestyle and a fifth in the double distance.
Lessons from the World Cup
The analysis work after the World Championships is at an individual level, but Martina Aronsson highlights two general lessons for the years leading up to the next Olympics.
Number one is that we should be as highly ranked as possible before the championships. That they have competed at a high international level before the championships. That was not the case this summer, they had not succeeded before. You need to have good results with you, we have talked about that a lot.
Number two is for the swimmers who didn't succeed to go back to the seasons that worked well, and see what to change in their training processes.
A total of 29 swimmers is the largest Swedish championship squad since the beginning of the 2000s, according to Aronsson.
The goal in the European Championship?
Eight finals and then I hope for a couple of medals. Then the goal is for everyone to swim semi-finals, it won't work out, but that's always the goal when you're on the national team.
Goran Sundberg/TT
Facts: European Championship squad
TT
The debutants: Ludvig Bartolek, 17 years old, Helsingborg, 50, 100 and 200 meter freestyle, Jacob Danielsson, 27, Stockholm Police, 50 meter butterfly and 50 meter freestyle, Jonathan Eriksson, 19, Stockholms KK, 400, 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle, Linus Forsgren, 22, Linköping, 50 and 100 meter breaststroke, Oliver Munn, 18, Väsby, 50, 100 and 200 meter breaststroke, Markus Nykvist, 21, Spårvägen, 100 and 200 meter breaststroke, Melker Rosengren, 22, Väsby, 50 and 100 meter butterfly, 100 meter medley, Victor Sandrup, 18, Helsingborg, 400, 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle, Charlie Skoglund Mcmillan, 21, Elfsborg, 50, 100 and 200 meter freestyle, 50 meter backstroke, 100 meter medley, Alice Velden, 20, SS04, 50 and 100 meter backstroke.
Other swimmers, men: Robin Hanson, Spårvägen, 100, 200 and 400 meter freestyle, Emil Hassling, Landskrona, 100, 200 and 400 meter medley, 50 meter breaststroke, Oskar Hoff, Landskrona, 50 and 100 meter butterfly, 100 meter medley, Victor Johansson, Jönköping, 400, 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle, Daniel Kertes, Helsingborg, 50 and 100 meter breaststroke, Elias Persson, Malmö, 50 and 100 meter freestyle.
Women: Hanna Bergman, Helsingborg, 100 and 200 meter medley, Emelie Fast, Södertörn, 50, 100 and 200 meter breaststroke, Louise Hansson, Helsingborg, 50 and 100 meter butterfly, 50 and 100 meter backstroke, Sophie Hansson, Helsingborg, 50 and 100 meter breaststroke, Thilda Häll, Elfsborg, 400, 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle, Olivia Klint Ipsa, Helsingborg, 50, 100 and 200 meter breaststroke, Sara Junevik, Falun, 50 and 100 meter freestyle and 50 and 100 meter butterfly, Vicky Luc, 18 years old, Helsingborg, 100 and 200 meter medley, Lisa Nystrand, 19, Neptun, 200 and 400 meter medley, 200 meter breaststroke, Hanna Rosvall, Helsingborg, 50, 100 and 200 meter backstroke, Klara Thormalm, Jönköping, 50 meter freestyle and 50 meter breaststroke, Tea Winblad, Malmö, 100 and 200 meter breaststroke, 200 and 400 meter medley, 200 meter butterfly, Sofia Åstedt, Elfsborg, 100 and 200 meter freestyle.
