SPARTAN SPOTLIGHT
One Historic Leap at a Time
By Michelle Smith McDonald
Emilia Sjӧstrand, ’25 Sociology, has jumped plenty far on plenty of days, but no leap was longer than the one she made two years ago, when she came from her home in Stockholm, Sweden, to San José State to join the women’s track and field program.
The weather was different. The food was different. The social culture was different. It was a long way from her friends and family.
But Sjöstrand has learned the lay of the land since then. She’s embraced the taco trucks, the hikes and the trips to the beach — even if she didn’t get in the water.
And she has found her place as one of the nation’s top collegiate track and field athletes.
Earlier this year, Sjöstrand capped her stellar sophomore season by becoming the first woman All-American in SJSU history in both indoor and outdoor track and field. She was also the first woman in SJSU program history to represent the school at the NCAA Indoor Championship meet, and she’s rewriting the school record books in the long jump and triple jump with two college seasons to go.
Still, every once in a while she still feels the twinge.
“The homesickness comes and goes,” Sjöstrand said. “It’s not fun.”
Emilia Sjöstrand's achievements on the field have been recognized by the NCAA. Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics.
The long jump to get to San José
Sjöstrand’s parents were interested in looking into U.S. universities for her to continue her athletics career. She wanted to be in a big city with warmer weather. Meanwhile at SJSU, the coaches were scouring the lists of international athletes competing in the U-20 divisions, looking for the marks that jumped off the page.
Sjöstrand had been on the radar of the previous SJSU coaching staff. But there had been no follow-up. A phone connection led to a conversation. And a conversation led Sjöstrand to decide that SJSU might be the right fit for her.
But that was 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and getting to the United States proved difficult. The U.S. embassy was closed, making it difficult to obtain a visa. The number of flights was limited. She missed the fall semester of her freshman year trying to get to San José.
She arrived in time for the winter semester in 2022. She was isolated for a period of time, awaiting the results of medical tests. And it was then that the homesickness kicked in — she began calling her parents, questioning her decision, while Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Charles Ryan and the coaches tried to help. She needed to be busy, to stay distracted.
But slowly, Sjöstrand settled. And in the jumping pit, she was excelling — her technique, distance and Olympic prospects kept getting better.
“We knew we were getting a competent jumper who could walk in and be competitive at a conference level,” said Ryan. “What’s impossible to know, what the video doesn’t tell you, is how dynamic an athlete she is, how naturally powerful she is. It’s really exciting.”
“I can instantly feel it right when I’ve done my jump well. There’s nothing like it, putting so much effort into performing well and then it speaks for itself. My shoulders drop a little bit and I can breathe. It helps me trust myself and my goals.”
— Emilia Sjöstrand
Leaps and bounds
In her first season, she broke the school record in the triple jump. She broke her personal record in the long jump at the Mountain West Championships in 2022, and placed second in the triple jump. All of this set the stage for her All-American performances of 2022–23.
The same young girl who followed her older brother to a summer track and fell in love with running and jumping now has her eyes set on becoming a professional athlete, a world champion and potentially an Olympian.
“I can instantly feel it right when I’ve done my jump well,” Sjöstrand said. “There’s nothing like it, putting so much effort into performing well and then it speaks for itself. My shoulders drop a little bit and I can breathe. It helps me trust myself and my goals.”
Each leap holds another opportunity to improve and elevate the Spartans’ program.
“I think everybody — athletes and parents — claim that they work really hard, but Emilia actually does,” Ryan said. “She is extremely disciplined and serious about her craft — and her attention to detail is special.
“I think she has yet to tap her true potential. There is still so much to see there. She can legit be an Olympian and I think she can compete for medals.”
But first, two more years at a place that feels more like home all the time.
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