Background
His father Sture Nystrand is a Swede and his mother Smiljana Kokeza is Croatian from Split.
His father Sture Nystrand is a Swede and his mother Smiljana Kokeza is Croatian from Split.
After breaking the 48 second barrier in the 100 m freestyle long course (he was only the second person to do so after then world record holder Pieter van den Hoogenband) in Paris, Nystrand revealed that he averages less than 3,000 meters a practice, a minuscule amount compared to other professional swimmers, and never more than 20,000 meters a week. He is also noted for having an atypical front crawl technique in which his arms do not bend during the recovery phase. Normally, a swimmer will bend the arm at the elbow while above water to improve their line in the water.
Nystrand has also competed at the Olympic Games, in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
His best placing at the Games is the fourth place he got at the 50 metre freestyle event, 0.06 seconds behind South African medallist Roland Schoeman. At the Berlin round of the 2007 FINA World Cup, Nystrand broke the 100 m freestyle and 50 m freestyle (both short course) world records.
Long course (50 m)
Short course (25 m)
Södertörns Steamship (−2006)
Saskatchewan Neptun (2006–2011)
Spårvägens San Francisco (since 2011).