An aggressive form of gastroenteritis put a spanner in the works a few weeks ago.
Now the European Championship is the last chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris.
It feels good to have just one chance, it can lift me, says Robin Hanson.
Seven Swedish swimmers, with gold hope Sarah Sjöström at the forefront, have been selected for individual starts at the Olympic Games in Paris in just over six weeks.
In addition, there are also four relay teams.
Both Robin Hanson and Sara Junevik have great chances of being selected for the relay teams – but both also want to swim individually at the Olympic Games.
They had high hopes of securing an Olympic ticket at the end of the Mare Nostrum series in Monaco at the beginning of June, but then an aggressive gastroenteritis struck, affecting a total of seven Swedish swimmers.
Among them were Hanson and Junevik, who are trying to qualify for the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly respectively.
Really unfortunate, I felt in good form in Canet (the first leg) with a personal best on the hundred and the training led up to Monaco. So it was a shame, says Junevik.
Olympic Focus at the European Championship
Now the European Championship in Belgrade, which starts on Monday, is a championship with a strong Olympic focus.
Both are positive about their chances.
Robin Hanson, who made his Olympic debut in Tokyo, doesn't want to think about probably taking a spot on the men's 4x100m freestyle relay team.
I want to have that feeling that it's now or never. I'm trying not to think about the relay team at all, says Hanson.
He needs to shave off eight tenths of a second from his season's best to reach the Olympic qualifying time of 1:46.79. His personal record stands at 1:46.50.
"Mental Boost"
Junevik swam in the freestyle relay in Tokyo 2021, but wants to compete individually now.
Her speciality is the 50m butterfly, where she finished sixth at the World Championship last year – and where she has a gold medal chance at the European Championship.
But the main focus in an Olympic year is the 100m butterfly, since the shorter distance is not on the Olympic programme.
She lacks half a second to clear the Olympic qualifying time (57.92) compared to her personal record of 58.44 in Canet.
It sounds like a lot, but in Canet, Louise (Hansson) swam exactly the time I need to do, and I was 1.5-2 decimetres behind her. It's not more than that. It gave me a mental boost, she says.
The European Championship is late this year, and with only six weeks to the Olympic Games, most of the big stars are opting out.
Several of the Olympic-qualified Swedes are instead competing at the Sette Colli meeting in Rome during the midsummer weekend.
Similarly, many of Europe's top swimmers are choosing to skip Belgrade.
Björn Seeliger, Olympic-qualified in the 50m freestyle, is also choosing to compete at the European Championship. He was seventh at the World Championship in February and has a medal chance in Belgrad – but is competing with the Olympic Games in mind.
I want to get a repetition of the routines, train on the process of getting from the heats to the semifinal to the final. And do everything right there, says Seeliger.
+ Sara Junevik, 50m butterfly (heats and semifinal 17 June, final 18 June).
World Championship sixth last year, eleventh in the world this year, and now Junevik has a great chance to take her first individual championship medal as a senior. Has the best entry time (25.74) in the European Championship field.
Erik Persson, 200m breaststroke (19-20 June).
The Olympic-qualified breaststroker took World Championship silver in 2022 and a European Championship bronze in 2020. Has not yet reached the top times this year, but can compete for a medal in Belgrade.
+ Björn Seeliger, 50m freestyle (22-23 June).
Finished seventh at the World Championship in Doha in February and was selected for the Olympic Games. Seeliger is sixth on the world's best list this year with 21.67 and has only Vladyslav Buchov, Ukraine (21.38), ahead of him in the European Championship field.
SVT will broadcast the final sessions 17-23 June, starting at 18.30.
