Earlier this week, he missed the final of the 800-meter freestyle - the event in which he finished fifth at the World Championships last year.
In the 1,500-meter freestyle, things haven't gone as well in recent years, but Friday's 15:13.74 was just over 15 seconds above his own Swedish record.
It was only enough for eleventh place in the heats, just over 14 seconds from the final.
"Everything leading up to the championship has shown that I am better than ever. It is clear that I want to swim faster. The most frustrating thing is that I don't know what it is. It's like walking in a dark room looking for the light, but I can't find it," he says.
There is still the 400m freestyle - where he finished fourth at last year's World Championships - to be decided on Sunday. Can he find the light by then?
"Actually, I'm not in the dark. Compare this to being on a respirator and not knowing if you're going to survive. This is nothing," says Johansson, referring to the fact that the previously unlucky long-distance swimmer was hospitalized in December 2020 with a severe throat infection.
