The last time Sjöström competed was in January in Luxembourg.
Now she is counting the days until Friday when the second season of ISL, the money-loving swimming league, starts.
For six weeks, the basic series and semifinals will be decided in a bubble in Budapest.
All to minimize the risk of swimmers becoming infected with the coronavirus.
When TT talks to Sjöström, the super Swede, who last year was named the world's best female swimmer for the second time, has just had to leave her hotel room on Margaret Island in Budapest.
- You had to do a covid test as soon as you arrived and then I was isolated in the room until the answer came, Sjöström says about his quarantine period of around 18 hours.
Teammate infected
It has not gone as well for everyone.
The teammate in Energy Standard, the Dutchwoman Femke Heemskerk, tested positive at home in the Netherlands and remains there.
- It's super boring, incredibly hard.
But it is a pandemic that is going on, so the important thing is to maintain health.
It's really sad when someone gets infected, but she wrote on Instagram that she has no symptoms.
So it's nice, I hope she recovers and gets on well, says Sjöström.
With swimmers in ten teams and officials, there are around 750 people in the swimming bubble.
Then they are bussed between hotels, training pool and competition area.
The security regulations are extensive and the document with a restraining order is 13 pages long.
- You have to keep social distancing, we are used to it in Sweden, then everyone wears a mask all the time.
Tests take place every five days and you have your own room.
There are extreme restrictions, says Sjöström and continues:
- But the risk is very high that people will be infected anyway, but that is everywhere.
Whether you are here or at home in Stockholm.
I feel that it is still nice that we can come back and start competing again, most sports have already started and we have not been running since January.
I feel we need to get started.
"Will be a challenge"
Another three Swedes are in ISL, Michelle Coleman, Louise Hansson and Erik Persson.
It makes the time in the bubble a little easier - but she will miss loved ones.
- It's worth it for me to be able to work.
However, it will be a challenge, I have never spent so much time in the same place.
At home you have everything, so you will miss the family, says Sjöström, who took a break this summer to train as a personal trainer.
For Sjöström, 2020 would have been a big year with the Olympics in Tokyo as the main goal.
She won five medals, including one gold, at the World Cup 2019 and took gold, silver and bronze at the Olympics in Rio 2016.
Instead, the corona pandemic came and the Olympics will instead be decided in July 2021. If now the pandemic is over until then.
- I take one thing at a time, that has been my motto during the year.
It is very difficult to make too long plans right now.
I assume that the Olympics will be decided next year, but there is no fixed training or competition planning before, it is completely impossible to do, she says.
Last year, her team won the Energy Standard and Sjöström became the series' MVP and withdrew the most prize money of all, around SEK 1.2 million.
The goal now?
- I have not thought much about it yet, I want us to take home the title with Energy Standard, then I will fight to take home the MVP title again this year.
It will be an incredible challenge, the competition is even tougher this year.
But it's hard, you do not really know, I can only guess that I am in good shape.
It feels that way in the body anyway.
CLIP: Sjöström's nostalgic tears when she sees the gold pictures (July 30, 2020)
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Sarah Sjöström gets emotional in Sommaröppet when she gets to see pictures of her 14-year-old self.
Photo: SVT