Alshammar timed 25.31 seconds to break the old mark of 25.32 seconds set by Australia’s Felicity Galvez on April 4 this year in Manchester, England.
“I’m in shock. It’s a surge of emotion; I’m actually moved,” Alshammar said to the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper following her record-breaking swim.
The new record is a welcome lift for Alshammar, who suffered a disappointing Olympics in Beijing.
Just minutes before the semi-final heat of the Olympic 50 metre freestyle, an event for which she had been tipped to win a medal, Alshammar’s swimsuit broke, resulting in a botched race and failure to make the finals.
But poolside at the Eriksdahl swimming complex in Stockholm on Wednesday evening, Alshammar felt her latest race was a turning point.
“I can’t compare this to what I’ve done before. But what I’m most moved by is that I, for the first time in a long time, since last summer, am swimming well again,” she told DN.
Alshammar also left the pool with the $10,000 bonus check World Cup participants receive if they set a world record during the competition.
“It’s a bonus, but it also allows me to be more independent the rest of the season. I can skip other competitions and train instead,” she said.
Alshammar also set a world record in the 50 metre butterfly long course in Spain in June 2007, posting a time of 25.46 seconds.