Swede Sarah Sjöström just missed breaking a second world record in as many days at the world swimming championships.
Still, Sjöström easily won her fourth world title in the 100m butterfly in 55.53 seconds, following her Olympic gold medal. Sjöström won in Rio in a world-record 55.48. She’s the first woman to win four world titles in a single individual event.
American Kelsi Worrell earned bronze, her first individual medal at a major international meet. Worrell clocked a personal-best 56.37, finishing behind Australian silver medalist Emma McKeon (56.18).
“I actually could see [Sjöström] a little bit out of the corner of my eye and was like, I must be doing OK,” said Worrell, who missed the eight-woman Rio Olympic final by one spot.
Sjöström now owns the 11 fastest times in history. The next-fastest woman, 2012 Olympic champion Dana Vollmer, had a best time of 55.98.
On Sunday, Sjöström took .35 off the 100m freestyle world record leading off the 4x100m free relay for Sweden, which ended up fifth.
Sjöström is favored to win four individual titles in Budapest, with the 50m free and butterfly and 100m free later in the week.
Sjöström will not be swimming the 200m free in Budapest, keeping fans from a mouth-watering rematch with Katie Ledecky. Ledecky edged Sjostrom by .35 in the Rio Olympic final.
Women’s 100m Butterfly Results
Gold: Sarah Sjöström (SWE) -- 55.53
Silver: Emma McKeon (AUS) -- 56.18
Bronze: Kelsi Worrell (USA) -- 56.37
4. Penny Oleksiak (CAN) -- 56.94
5. Ahn Sehyeon (KOR) -- 57.07
6. Rikako Ikee (JPN) -- 57.08
7. Svetlana Chimrova (RUS) -- 57.24
8. Zhang Yufei (CHN) -- 57.51
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