Lars Frölander

Lars Arne Frölander (born 26 May 1974) is a Swedish swimmer. He has competed in six consecutive Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012).

Lars Frölander

Frölander at the 2006 Swedish Short Course Swimming Championships.
Personal information
Full name	Lars Arne Frölander
National team	Sweden
Born	(1974-05-26) 26 May 1974 (age 51) Boden, Sweden
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, freestyle
Club	Linköpings ASS
College team	Southern Methodist University (1996–1998)
Coach	Eddie Sinnott SMU Mustangs
Medal record Men's swimming Representing  Sweden Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympics 1 2 0 World Championships (LC) 2 3 2 World Championships (SC) 7 5 2 European Championships (LC) 3 6 8 European Championships (SC) 9 4 3 Total 22 20 15 Olympic Games 2000 Sydney 100 m butterfly 1992 Barcelona 4×200 m freestyle 1996 Atlanta 4×200 m freestyle World Championships (LC) 1994 Rome 4×200 m freestyle 2001 Fukuoka 100 m butterfly 1994 Rome 100 m butterfly 1998 Perth 100 m butterfly 2001 Fukuoka 50 m butterfly 1998 Perth 100 m freestyle 2001 Fukuoka 100 m freestyle World Championships (SC) 1993 Palma 4×200 m freestyle 1997 Gothenburg 100 m butterfly 1999 Hong Kong 100 m freestyle 1999 Hong Kong 100 m butterfly 2000 Athens 100 m freestyle 2000 Athens 100 m butterfly 2000 Athens 4×100 m freestyle 1997 Gothenburg 4×100 m freestyle 1997 Gothenburg 4×200 m freestyle 1999 Hong Kong 4×100 m medley 2002 Moscow 4×100 m freestyle 2006 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle 1999 Hong Kong 4×100 m freestyle 2008 Manchester 4×100 m freestyle European Championships (LC) 1997 Seville 100 m butterfly 1999 Istanbul 100 m butterfly 2000 Helsinki 100 m butterfly 1993 Sheffield 4×100 m freestyle 1995 Vienna 4×200 m freestyle 1997 Seville 100 m freestyle 2000 Helsinki 50 m butterfly 2000 Helsinki 4×100 m medley 2002 Berlin 4×100 m freestyle 1995 Vienna 4×100 m freestyle 1999 Istanbul 100 m freestyle 1999 Istanbul 50 m butterfly 1999 Istanbul 4×100 m medley 2000 Helsinki 100 m freestyle 2002 Berlin 50 m butterfly 2008 Eindhoven 4×100 m medley 2010 Budapest 4×100 m freestyle European Championships (SC) 1998 Sheffield 100 m freestyle 1998 Sheffield 4×50 m medley 1999 Lisbon 4×50 m freestyle 1999 Lisbon 4×50 m medley 1999 Lisbon 50 m butterfly 1999 Lisbon 100 m butterfly 2000 Valencia 4×50 m freestyle 2001 Antwerp 50 m butterfly 2005 Trieste 50 m butterfly 1998 Sheffield 100 m butterfly 1999 Lisbon 100 m freestyle 2000 Valencia 100 m butterfly 2001 Antwerp 100 m butterfly 1998 Sheffield 50 m butterfly 2001 Antwerp 4×50 m freestyle 2001 Antwerp 4×50 m medley

Biography

Frölander was born in Boden. He grew up in Ornäs in Borlänge Municipality.

In the 1992 Summer Olympics, he competed in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay along with Christer Wallin, Anders Holmertz and Tommy Werner. The Swedish team finished second behind the Unified Team.

In the 1996 Summer Olympics, Frölander again finished second in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay with the Swedish team. The team consisted of Christer Wallin, Anders Holmertz, Frölander, and Anders Lyrbring. This time the United States was the winning team. Frölander also competed in the 100 metre freestyle, where he finished ninth in the heats but scratched the B-final, and in the 100 metre butterfly event, where he finished 19th.

The highlight of his career was when he won the gold in the 100 metre butterfly event at the Sydney Olympic Games in September 2000. A couple of months earlier, he twice broke the world record in the men's 100 m butterfly (short course). Frölander was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 2000 as a result of his gold medal victory in Sydney.^[1]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Frölander, at the age of 38, posted a 52.47 in the opening heats of the 100 m butterfly, less than 1 second slower than top qualifier Chad le Clos, but 0.12 seconds too slow to advance to the semifinals.

Personal bests

Long course (50 m)

Event	Time		Date	Meet	Location	Ref
50 m freestyle	22.65	(h)	18 Jul 2000	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland
100 m freestyle	48.79		27 Jul 2001	World Championships	Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan
200 m freestyle	1:50.03		13 Aug 1997	European Championships	Seville, Spain
50 m butterfly	23.56	NR	18 Jul 2008	Swedish Championships	Norrköping, Sweden
100 m butterfly	52.00	NR	22 Sep 2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia

Legend: WR – World record; ER – European record; NR – Swedish record;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Short course (25 m)

Event	Time		Date	Meet	Location	Ref
50 m freestyle	21.92	(r)	20 Oct 2001	Novo Nordisk Sprint Cup	East Meadow, New York, United States
100 m freestyle	46.75		16 Mar 2000	World SC Championships	Athens, Greece
200 m freestyle	1:45.43		16 Mar 2003	Swedish SC Championships	Stockholm, Sweden
50 m butterfly	22.97	NR	20 Oct 2001	Novo Nordisk Sprint Cup	East Meadow, New York, United States
100 m butterfly	50.44	NR	17 Mar 2000	World SC Championships	Athens, Greece

Legend: WR – World record; ER – European record; NR – Swedish record;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Clubs

• Borlänge SS
• Sundsvalls SS (1996–2001)
• Linköpings ASS (2001–)