Sarah Sjostrom because Sweden’s first swimming gold midlist when she won Olympic gold in the 100m butterfly in 55.48 seconds, a new world record.
Canada’s Penny Oleksiak, 16, took the silver in 56.46 seconds. The medal marks Canada’s first-ever medal in the event.
2012 Olympic champ in the event, Team USA’s Dana Vollmer, claimed the bronze with a 56.63.
Vollmer’s gold medal-winning time in 2012, 55.98, set the world and Olympic records at the time. Sjostrom broke the world record at the 2015 World Championships, lowering it to 55.64. In Saturday’s 100m butterfly semifinal, Sjostrom cracked Vollmer’s Olympic record, too, lowering from 55.98 to 55.84.
Prior to the event, Vollmer – who gave birth to her first son Arlen in March 2015 and brands herself as the Momma on a Mission – tweeted she was proud of her return journey to the Games no matter the outcome of the race.
American Kelsi Worrell, who qualified for Rio ahead of Vollmer at the U.S. Trials in June, finished the semifinals in ninth place by 0.03 seconds on Saturday and missed the eight-woman final.