Ya she’s actually a breaststroker rather than a D freestyler like LCB. At the Athens Games, she swam the 100m breast leg of the 400 medley relay in 1:10.62.
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This is a great story for out sport, like a few we have had in the past. And keep in mind that even though her top stroke was breast, she would have done millions of yardages in free too. Probably why she is one of the few that actually stays with Lucy or any other front pack leader, often even taking turns at the front.
I wonder how many AG’ers here could beat her breast time doing free!!!
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Since most of us (in America) swim in 25-yd pools, I used Swimswam’s converter to check her time in SCY, which came out at 1:01.81. Don’t know many AGers who can do that for 100 free. 
can you still go that fast or better? I can still manage it, actually went 1;09 for LCM not long ago, but of course Im probably a very far off breakaway swimmer soon to be in the 70+ category. I love her style, and great to shut a few up when marcag explained her extensive aero testing!
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If I’m not mistaken, she was not yet on her prime. She broke the European record at the Mediterranean games I believe.
Her story is amazing. She had to quit swimming abruptly for personal reasons, and took triathlon as a hobby initially.
Jaime and her broke just a few months ago after a very long stint. Like 10 years or so. She started seriously like at 27 or so, and had to overcome many difficulties, including not being able to run a 10K in under 45 minutes. But her determination is brutal. Second to none.
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Very interesting! How do you know all of these details???
She was never a European record holder. Her PB was 1:11 at the Mediterranean games. The GDR (Sylvia Gerasch) was 1:08 by 1986 holding the ER record.
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Maybe it was a junior record, as she retired from swimming at a very young age.
Both where my coaches and friends and spent a long time on the same club.
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It does seem as if the work with the new coach is really paying off, she is really consistent now and less DNFs. Looking forward to see her in 2026.
well she did not leave her coach it was the other way round
ugliest try suit ever since Martin Van Riel at San Francisco in 2024
Yeah, I am aware, saw the post on IG by her. Kudos to the guy, takes a lot of courage to make the right decision (i.e. I am not the right coach for you anymore).
He always said you should change coaches after a number of years, no matter how good the coach is. He is being coherent, which is a rarity these days. And Sara’s recent results are proving him right. Although it was a shocker for her at first. Kudos to both.
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Indeed, I’m no longer her coach — “only” her friend — and I try to keep helping her with aerodynamics and equipment. Her current coach is Pablo Dapena, which I believe was the best choice Sara could have made.
There are many things that can be confusing about Sara, and this already happened when she led Daytona 2021 in her debut at this kind of race. Many people googled her and found that she appeared as a professional cyclist (she isn’t — she only did a few races during the pandemic), while her 4x100 medley relay diploma from Athens 2004 at age 16 was overlooked.
Regarding the topic that seems to draw the most attention on Slowtwitch — her equipment — she indeed doesn’t use a skinsuit because she usually doesn’t need it to be at the front of the race. It typically guarantees her the best T1 and allows her to lead the race for several kilometers (unless Lucy decides otherwise).
As for the aerodynamics of her skin, we were also convinced that bare skin is slower (and yes, we have access to the same data you do). However, after two wind tunnel sessions (Eindhoven and Silverstone) and testing on both velodrome (Portugal) and road with Marc Graveline, we found that she is sensitive to helmet changes, but fabric doesn’t make a difference for her (we’ve tested around 20 different textures, some of which worked for other triathletes). Similarly, the BTA bottle doesn’t make her faster or slower, but she keeps it for easier hydration.
Last but not least, Sara has ulcerative colitis, which forces her to stop during the run to use the bathroom, and in that regard, the swimsuit is the fastest option.
Regarding her position and bike: she rides a Cervélo P-Series to be able to use a very long and low Wattshop handlebar, which so far has proven to be her best setup. Note: the bike was purchased by her, and she’s very happy to be able to choose her own equipment.
If you want to dig deeper into the reasoning behind our decisions, here are three links about her aerodynamics
Velodrome: https://youtu.be/YOSfCfc1Qd4?si=rcfU5q5MizTcHZd8
Windtunnel 2: https://youtu.be/YOSfCfc1Qd4?si=rcfU5q5MizTcHZd8
Her Cervelo; https://youtu.be/YOSfCfc1Qd4?si=rcfU5q5MizTcHZd8
Hope it helps
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Luarca - Many thanks for all of these details. It is very impressive that Sara is able to compete at such a high level despite having UC.
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Thanks a ton!
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This is the kinda stuff why slowtwitch should be known for. Love it, thanks for the details.
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