Sara MCMANUS

Sweden

Curling

Date of Birth: 13 Dec 1991

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Place of birth: GOTHENBURG

Birth Country:

Sweden

Residence: GAVLE

Residence Country:

Sweden

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Curling	Women SWE Sweden	3

Schedule

Location	Event	Status
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet C	Women's Round Robin Session 1 SWE Sweden 8 JPN Japan 5	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet B	Women's Round Robin Session 2 SWE Sweden 2 GBR Great Britain 8	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet A	Women's Round Robin Session 4 SWE Sweden 7 CAN Canada 6	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet D	Women's Round Robin Session 5 SWE Sweden 6 CHN People's Republic of China 9	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet B	Women's Round Robin Session 6 USA United States of America 4 SWE Sweden 10	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet A	Women's Round Robin Session 8 SUI Switzerland 5 SWE Sweden 6	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet B	Women's Round Robin Session 9 SWE Sweden 9 DEN Denmark 3	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet C	Women's Round Robin Session 11 ROC ROC 5 SWE Sweden 8	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet D	Women's Round Robin Session 12 KOR Republic of Korea 4 SWE Sweden 8	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet A	Women's Semi-final SWE Sweden 11 GBR Great Britain 12	Finished
National Aquatics Centre - Sheet B	Women's Bronze Medal Game SWE Sweden 9 SUI Switzerland 7	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Historical Results

Olympic Games
Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2018	PyeongChang, KOR

World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location
2	Women	2019	Silkeborg, DEN
2	Women	2018	North Bay, ON, CAN
4	Women	2021	Calgary, AB, CAN
4	Women	2017	Beijing, CHN
5	Women	2014	Saint John, NB, CAN
7	Women	2015	Sapporo, JPN

European Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2019	Helsingborg, SWE
1	Women	2018	Tallinn, EST
2	Women	2017	St. Gallen, SUI
2	Women	2016	Glasgow, SCO
5	Women	2014	Champery, SUI

World Junior Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Women	2010	Flims, SUI
4	Women	2012	Oestersund, SWE
4	Women	2011	Perth, SCO
5	Women	2013	Sochi, RUS
6	Women	2009	Vancouver, BC, CAN

Nickname:

McAttack

Hobbies:

CrossFit, golf, spending time with her dog, watching TV series.

Occupation:

Athlete

Family:

Fiance, Joakim Sjolund

Languages spoken:

Swedish, English

Club name:

Sundbybergs CK

Coach:

National: Wayne Middaugh (CAN)

Position style:

Third

Hand:

Right

Sporting relatives:

Father Stuart McManus (Football): Tottenham Hotspur junior, made two appearances for English first division team Southampton in 1986, scoring one goal. Played 17 seasons in Scandinavia, spending 11 years with Swedish club Orgryte over three spells. Runner-up in the 1992 Norwegian Football Cup, while playing with Lillestrom, earning qualification to the 1993/94 European Cup Winners’ Cup. Eliminated in the first round by Torino.

Sister Jonna McManus (Curling): Gold medallist at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Film. Played with Sara and her future teammates, Anna Hasselborg and Agnes Knochenhauer.

Cousin Joakim Lundstrom (Ice Hockey): Goaltender for Sweden at the U18 (2002) and U20 (2004) World Championships. Played majority of his career in Sweden’s top two leagues, with stints in Finland, Slovakia and the Russian Federation’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), before finishing his career in Hungary’s Erste Liga in 2019, with SC Csikszereda.

Debut:

2014 World Championships in Saint John (Alternate); 2015 World Championships in Sapporo vs. Germany

Injuries:

2017/18: Hypothyroidism diagnosis, leaving her fatigued.

January 2017: Injured bicep tendon in shoulder while doing pull-up exercises. One year to fully recover.

Start:

Started curling as a family activity in 1999 after her mum read an article in the paper. With her sister, they began to take it more seriously and started training and competing (with dad as their coach). Was playing football at the same time and then at age 17 she focused solely on curling. (wcecongress.com, Jun 2019; sok.se, 22 Apr 2017)

Reason:

"I love this sport because it’s a team sport, it’s a very challenging sport for the mind and your focus. It demands a lot of good communication and listening, also the physical part and of course the perfection of technique or touch/feeling. There's obviously many reasons why I love this sport." (wcecongress.com, Jun 2019)

Memorable:

Winning a gold medal at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. "This is the biggest thing I've ever done, in so many ways." (wcecongress.com, Jun 2019)

Ritual:

Wears two socks on her left foot, but can’t remember why. (Team Hasselborg Facebook, 26 Apr 2018)

Award:

HM The King’s Medal for Contributions with Swedish Sport (2019)
Best Female Athlete Team of PyeongChang 2018 at the ANOC Awards (2018)
Gastrikland Sportswoman of the Year (2016)
World Junior Championship Sportsmanship Award (2013)

General Interest

DREAM TEAM
McManus, Anna Hasselborg and Agnes Knochenhauer won gold together at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Flims. Split at the start of their senior careers, with McManus playing with future teammate Sofia Mabergs, and Hasselborg teaming up with Knochenhauer. In 2015, Hasselborg contacted McManus about forming a new team, with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Games. The quartet won gold in PyeongChang 2018, and have two European titles (2018, 2019) and two World Championship silver medals (2018, 2019). (sportsnet.ca, 20 Jan 2018)

FIGHTING FATIGUE
Diagnosed with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland) in 2017, she suffered fatigue and bats of depression. In 2018, a friend read an article about a marathon runner with similar symptoms, so McManus contacted the Swedish Olympic Committee, who arranged a specialist to give her new medication.

"I was constantly tired, I simply felt really bad. I felt so bad, basically did not train at all that summer but lay mostly and slept and got no recovery at all. I was a wreck. When the season started, we drove on and I was completely exhausted. After the Olympics (PyeongChang 2018) I crash-landed. It was really just like a black hole. I did not feel any joy in anything, I did not feel any longing to play a competition or to experience things. I just wanted to lie down and sleep." (aftonbladet.se, 25 Apr 2020)

Milestones

Member of the first Swedish women’s team to win a Grand Slam title (2018) and the first women’s team to win three Grand Slam titles in a row.

Social Media

Legend

:: Bronze
:: Bronze Medal Event

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