Dana Vollmer Playfully Challenges Sarah Sjostrom To Record Rematch In Rio

On August 2 Dana Vollmer had to sit by and watch as Swedish superstar Sarah Sjostrom broke her 100m butterfly world record in the world championship semifinals with a time of 55.74.

That took a 0.24 second chunk off Vollmer’s 55.98 world record from the 2012 Olympic Games and made Sjostrom only the second woman ever behind Vollmer to break the 56-second barrier in the 100 fly.

After Sjostrom’s record, Vollmer tweeted out:

“While hard to see my World Record fall, it couldn’t have gone to a more deserving woman! Congrats @Sarahsjo on an awesome swim!”

The next day, Sjostrom broke her newly established record again, distancing herself even more from Vollmer’s 2012 swim with a 55.64.

Vollmer took an almost two year hiatus from the sport following the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, announcing in October of 2014 that she was expecting her first child.

Although Vollmer never officially retired, many assumed that she had hung up her goggles for good when she didn’t return to the pool after the 2013 World Championships. Vollmer proved them wrong when she entered her first race since 2013 worlds at the 2015 LA Invite.

There, Vollmer ended up finishing sixth in the 100m fly with a time of 1:00.72. In her first race back which took place in prelims, Vollmer clocked in a 1:00.05.

Vollmer has blatantly said that she wants to get back into the swing of things and, “feel that thrill,” saying that she would see what kind of shape she could get in heading into the 2016 Olympic Trials.

The fact that Sjostrom was clearly going after Vollmer’s record seems to have sparked a fire in Vollmer to confirm that she will be fighting for a spot on the 2016 Olympic team as she tweeted out the followings the day before Sjostrom’s new record:

“.@sarasjo, it’s lonely under 56! Wishing you all the 55.99 luck 😉 at #Kazan2015!! I want to race you for the record in #Rio2016!!”

Although it doesn’t necessarily confirm her intentions due to the playful nature of the tweet, it at least goes to show that Vollmer’s paying attention and believes she has something left in her career.