Malin Therese Alshammar (born 26 August 1977) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who has won three Olympic medals, 25 World Championship medals, and 43 European Championship medals. She is a specialist in short distances races in freestyle and

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

. She is coached by former Swedish swimmer Johan Wallberg. She is the first female swimmer and the third overall (after

Lars Frölander Lars Arne Frölander (born 26 May 1974) is a Swedish swimmer. He has competed in six consecutive Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012). Biography Frölander was born in Boden. He grew up in Ornäs in Borlänge Municipality. In ...

and

Derya Büyükuncu Derya Büyükuncu (; born 2 July 1976) is a six-time Olympic backstroke and butterfly swimmer from Turkey. The tall athlete at is a member of Galatasaray Swimming. His coach is Zehra Büyükuncu. He participated in six consecutive Summer Olym ...

) to participate in six Olympic Games.

Biography

Alshammar was born in Solna in 1977, daughter of 7th placed Olympic breaststroke swimmer

Britt-Marie Smedh Britt-Marie Smedh (born 22 March 1955) is a former Sweden, Swedish breaststroke Swimming (sport), swimmer who represented Stockholmspolisens IF. Smedh participated in the 1972 Summer Olympics, finishing 7th in the Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olym ...

and Krister Alshammar. She started swimming on the team of

Sundbybergs IK Sundbybergs IK is a Swedish football club located in Sundbyberg. Background Sundbybergs IK, (abbreviated as SIK), is a sports club based in Sundbyberg. The club currently has thirteen sections and around 3000 members catering for the sports of f ...

. At the beginning of her career she was a backstroke swimmer and in 1991, the year Alshammar turned 14, she won her first national short course title on 50 m backstroke at the 1991 Swedish Short Course Swimming Championships. The year after, when she was 14 years old, she won her first national long course senior title, 100 m backstroke at the 1992 Swedish Swimming Championships representing Järfälla SS. Alshammar was a part of the Swedish team in 1993 European Championships in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, finishing fourth in the 100 m backstroke final, and in the inaugural World Short Course Championships in

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

. In Palma de Mallorca she took a ninth place in the individual 100 m backstroke, swum the prelims in the silver medal winning 4×100 m freestyle team and came fourth in the 4×100 m medley alongside breaststroker Hanna Jaltner, butterfly swimmer Ellenor Svensson and Linda Olofsson on the freestyle leg. She first appeared on the international scene after the 1994 World Aquatics Championships where she made the semifinals in the 100 m

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

. In the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, she participated in this event and reached the semifinals. In 1997, Alshammar moved to the United States and

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

to study at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

and swim for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers swimming and diving team Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

together with Destiny Laurén under the coach Cal Bentz. The time in the United States resulted in one individual 1999 Big 12 Conference Women's Swimming and Diving Championships gold medal, on the 100 yard freestyle. At the NCAA Division 1 Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, she won a silver medal in the 4×200 yard relay team 1998 and fourth in 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard freestyle 1999. Under her first year she was a part of the Nebraska Cornhuskers Big 12 Conference Women's Swimming and Diving Championships team. At a personal level she studied advertising. Alshammar also trained at

The Race Club The Race Club is a swimming club known for training Olympic Games swimmers with its swimming training program that is focused on specific swimming techniques, located in Islamorada, Florida. History The Race Club was founded in 2003 by Gary Ha ...

, a swimming club founded by Olympic Swimmers

Gary Hall Jr. Gary Wayne Hall Jr. (born September 26, 1974) is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996, 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 Olympics and won ten Olympic ...

and his father, Gary Hall Sr. The Race Club, originally known as "The World Team," was designed to serve as a training group for elite swimmers across the world in preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. To be able to train with the Race Club, one must either have been ranked in the top 20 in the world the past 3 calendar years or top 3 in their nation in the past year. The Race Club included well-known swimmers as

Roland Mark Schoeman Roland Mark Schoeman OIS (born 4 July 1980) is a South African American swimmer and was a member of the South African swimming team at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. In May 2022, he officially became United States citizen. Ca ...

, Mark Foster,

Ryk Neethling Ryk Neethling OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as the three-times World Champion and four-times World Record Breaking Olympic swimming champion. He is known as one of the most accomplished swim ...

, Ricky Busquet. Alshammar won her first international medal, a bronze in the 50 m freestyle, at the 1997 European Championships. She developed this stroke into her speciality and won the silver at the 1999 European Championships. She broke through to the top ranks at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Sydney where she won silver medals in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle, both times vanquished by

Inge de Bruijn Inge de Bruijn (; born 24 August 1973) is a Dutch former competitive swimmer. She is a four-time Olympic champion and a former world record-holder. Personal De Bruijn was born in Barendrecht, Netherlands. Inge is the sister of Olympic water ...

, and a bronze medal with the Swedish relay team. Since Sydney, she has been a favourite at major international events over short distances. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 2001 she won two silver medals, this time in the 50 m freestyle and 50 m butterfly. In the 2002 European Championships in Berlin she won the 50 m freestyle. In 2003, she let up to focus on the

Athens 2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. In her only start in the 50 m, she barely missed a medal, coming fourth in the 50 m freestyle. In the

2005 World Aquatics Championships The 2005 World Aquatics Championships (french: Championnats du monde de natation 2005) or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005. They took place in Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's I ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, she won a bronze medal in the 50 m butterfly, and took the gold on the same distance at World Championships in Shanghai 2011. By winning three individual events at the 2006 Swedish Short Course Swimming Championships in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, she took her 73rd gold medal and became the Swedish swimmer with the most individual gold medals on the Swedish Championships, passing

Anders Holmertz Anders Holmertz (born 1 December 1968) is a Swedish retired swimmer who was a leader in freestyle (200 and 400 meters) races in the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, though often missing personal success. He also settled a record in the 40 ...

with one. She took her first gold medal in 1991. On 17 March 2009, at the Australian Swimming Titles, she broke her own world record in the 50-meter butterfly with a time of 25.44. She was later disqualified by Swimming Australia for wearing two swimsuits. FINA, swimming's governing body, had ratified a new rule only 17 days previously that swimmers can only wear one suit. Alshammar initially appealed the disqualification but withdrew the appeal when the new rule was explained to her. On 31 July 2011 she won the gold medal at 50 meter freestyle at the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synchro ...

, making her the oldest woman to win an individual gold medal at the long-course world championships. The day before, she had already won the silver medal in the 50 meter butterfly. During the London

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Alshammar participated in the 50 m freestyle, where she placed 6th. In June 2016 she became the first female swimmer and the third overall (after

and

) to participate in six Olympic Games. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, she competed in the 50 m freestyle event. She placed 15th in the semifinals and did not advance to the final. Alshammar was the flag bearer for Sweden at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Personal life

Alshammar is in a relationship with her coach Johan Wallberg. In June 2013 they became parents of a son.http://hd.se/sport/2013/06/04/alshammar-har-blivit-mamma HD Retrieved 26 June 2013 She will participate in

Let's Dance 2018 Let's Dance 2018 is the thirteenth season of the Swedish celebrity dancing TV-series Let's Dance, the season premiered on TV4 23 March 2018. The show is presented by Tilde de Paula Eby and David Hellenius. English dancer Aaron Brown from the ...

broadcast on

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

. She grew up in

Duvbo Duvbo is an upper-middle-class residential area in Sundbyberg in suburban Stockholm, Sweden. In 2019 it had 2217 inhabitants. The Duvbo metro station is located in central Sundbyberg, just outside (300m) Duvbo and is part of the Stockholm Metro ...

, a part of

Sundbyberg Municipality Sundbyberg Municipality (''Sundbybergs kommun'' or ''Sundbybergs stad'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, just north of the capital Stockholm. Sundbyberg is wholly within the Stockholm urban area and has a 100% urba ...

Awards

Radiosportens Jerringpris The Jerring Award ( sv, Jerringpriset or "Radiosportens Jerringpris") is a prize established by Radiosporten, the sport section of Sveriges Radio, voted by its radio audience who choose the Swedish athlete or team that has made the best sport perf ...

: 2010 * Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal: 2011 *

Victoria Scholarship The Victoria Award ( sv, Victoriapriset), earlier called the Victoria Scholarship ( sv, Victoriastipendiet) is awarded to a Swedish athlete (or pair of athletes) every year since 1979, on Öland, on the 14 July, the birthday of Victoria, Crown Prin ...

: 2000 * FINA Swimmer of the Year: 2010 * H. M. The King's Medal 8:e with ribbon

Personal bests

Long course (50 m)

Short course (25 m)

Clubs

Stockholmspolisens IF Stockholmspolisens IF is a Sweden, Swedish swim team from Stockholm, Sweden founded in 1912. Stockholmspolisens IF also has departments in team handball, basketball, football (soccer), football, judo and, triathlon. The swimming department offers ...

* Järfälla SS (−1992) *

SK Neptun SK Neptun, ''Simklubben Neptun'', Swedish swim team from Stockholm founded October 12, 1906 by members from Stockholms KK. Home pool is Eriksdalsbadet in Stockholm. The club practises swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and mas ...

(1993–1995, 1996–2008) * Helsingborgs SS (1996) *

Täby Sim Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 66,292 inhabitants in 2013. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, S ...

(2008–)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alshammar, Therese 1977 births Living people People from Solna Municipality Swedish female backstroke swimmers Swedish female butterfly swimmers Swedish female freestyle swimmers Swedish female medley swimmers Olympic swimmers of Sweden Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Nebraska Cornhuskers women's swimmers University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Sundbybergs IK swimmers Stockholmspolisens IF swimmers Järfälla SS swimmers SK Neptun swimmers Helsingborgs SS swimmers Täby Sim swimmers World record holders in swimming Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Stockholm County 20th-century Swedish women 21st-century Swedish women