Sarah Sjöström

Swedish competitive swimmer Sarah Sjöström held world records in three events - the 50-meter butterfly, 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter freestyle - which made her one of the most successful swimming athletes of her generation. Born Sarah Fredrika Sjöström in the Swedish municipality of Salem on August 17, 1993, she began swimming at the age of nine and earned her first gold medal five years later with a record-breaking time in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2008 European Aquatics Championship. Sjöström placed 27th in the 100-meter butterfly event at the Beijing Olympics that same year, but roared back to form at the 2009 World Aquatics Championship, where she set another world record with a time of 56.06. She returned to the Olympics in 2012 for the Summer Games in London, where she improved her individual standing by placing fourth in the 100-meter butterfly, but also saw her world record broken by American swimmer Dana Vollmer, who achieved a time of 55.48. Sjöström rebounded with major wins at the 2012 European Short Course Swimming Championships and Barcelona World Championships in 2013, and in short order, set the world records in 50-meter butterfly and 200-meter freestyle in 2014 before recapturing the world record in 100-meter butterfly the following year at the World Aquatics Championships. In 2016, she qualified for the Swedish swimming team to compete in the Summer Olympics in Rio.