Swede Sjostrom to leverage vast experience in Paris

STOCKHOLM : Sarah Sjostrom may be the most senior team member as she heads into her fifth Olympics, but the Swedish swimmer feels she is far from a grizzled veteran and still has a lot more to give in the pool. 

Sjostrom - an Olympic gold medal winner in Rio in 2016, a 20-times world champion and holder of multiple long-course world records - will bring all her vast experience to Paris, where she will compete in the 50m and 100m freestyle events. 

"I've done this a few times now - it's not going to be anything new, and I definitely have a lot of experience from other competitions now, so that gives a lot of confidence," she told Reuters ahead of her team's departure to France. 

Sitting in a low-slung chair at a hotel in Eskilstuna, around 100 kilometers from Stockholm, Sjostrom was her usual self ahead of a major championships - relaxed, but very much focused on the task in hand. 

"I can ask the younger kids for advice too, we help each other. I think that's important and that's maybe a big part of my success too," she said. 

"I think we have a very nice vibe in the team, I really like it."

But however much the Swedes might like to give the impression no-one in the team is more important than anyone else, Sjostrom's achievements speak for themselves. 

CAREER CONSISTENCY

"That's something I'm very proud of, the consistency I had throughout my career. I've had a lot of different events, so like 50 free, 50 fly, 200 free, 100 free. I have medals in most big main competitions in those, and I had world records in a lot of them," she said.

"Of course, that's something I'm very proud of, and I think the something that helped me to get there is that I had the right people around me throughout my career - the right coaches and the right