Tears streaming down her face, Louise Hansson showed how disappointed she was.
It ended with an eighth and final place in the final of the 100m butterfly.
The goal was to set a "personal best" and then it would have been enough for a medal, she says.
It was a tough evening for both sisters from Helsingborg. A little later, a tearful Sophie Hansson came after her semifinal in the 100m breaststroke.
She didn't even make it to the final in her specialty event.
Big sister Louise, 27, did her fastest swim in two years in the semifinal on Saturday evening, clocking 56.93.
Then and there, the hope of beating her personal record from the OS final in Tokyo, 56.22, which meant a fifth place, was ignited.
"Don't quite get going"
But the clock stopped at 57.34.
I don't quite get going, I'm too slow out. I know I haven't been close to my "personal best", but it's clear that it was the goal and then it would have been enough for a medal, says Hansson, who took VM-bronze in February.
Bronze medalist Zhang Yufei, China, clocked 56.21.
Torri Huske pulled off a surprise and won gold on 55.59, four hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Gretchen Walsh, who just over a month ago broke Sarah Sjöström's world record from Rio 2016 by three tenths, 55.18.
Louise Hansson has no explanation for why she swam slower than in the semifinal.
I felt calm before and fresh in my body. I felt pretty quickly that I didn't have the speed out that I want. At the same time, I only see Emma (McKeon) and then it feels like I'm in the race, says Hansson about the reigning Australian champion who only became sixth.
"It's crushing"
Sophie Hansson won EM-gold in the 100m breaststroke in 2021, when she also became sixth in the OS final in Tokyo.
Now it stopped already in the semifinal.
The time 1.06,96 was only enough for a total 13th place and was 1.3 seconds over her own Swedish record.
I'm extremely disappointed. I have so much more in my body, but can't get it out, says the 25-year-old and continues harshly:
We've worked for three years for this moment and for it to turn out like this is crushing.
Louise Hansson swims the heats of the 100m backstroke already on Monday morning.
