Sarah Sjostrom Delivers Criticism, Social Media Blocks for Enhanced Games
Olympic gold medalist Sarah Sjostrom expressed her dismay this week with the Enhanced Games, saying she’s blocked any publicity of it from her social feeds.
The Swedish sprinter has distanced herself from the athletes, including Europeans Ben Proud and Marius Kusch, who have agreed to take part in the doping-fueled event next year. Sjostrom discussed her feelings in an interview with SVT Sport in her native Sweden.
“It’s very unfortunate,” Sjostrom said, as translated by the Sweden Herald. “But there are some who have chosen to invest money because they find it exciting to see how good an athlete can become with the help of all the illegal means.”
Sjostrom, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the reigning champion in the 50 free and 100 free, is dismayed by the attention the competition is getting, especially giving the use of illicit substances. With Proud, for instance, she pointed out that the use of supersuits that are banned in competition might be enough to break new barriers without the need for pharmaceutical enhancement.
The 32-year-old has elected to keep news of the event away from her, by blocking and unfollowing athletes taking part.
“What I wish is that you don’t give them much media attention because they don’t deserve it,” she said. “The problem is that if you give them attention medially, maybe there will be even more money for these athletes who choose to join. …
“At least I’ve blocked and unfollowed all those who choose to join. I don’t want to see it on social media or see anything about it.”
Sjostrom gave birth to her first child in August, missing out on the latest World Aquatics Championships. She has an eye toward returning to competition. In addition to her six Olympic medals, she is a 14-time World Champion in long-course and the owner of 25 career long-course World Championships. She’s a 29-time European champion (17 times in long-course, 12 in short-course) with 96 major international medals to her name.
