Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys, who notably touched first in the 200 free final at the World Championships this summer before being disqualified for flinching at the start, announced this week he will not be participating in the first season of the International Swimming League. Rapsys was originally signed to swim for the Energy Standard team alongside world and Olympic champions Chad Le Clos, Sarah Sjostrom and Anton Chupkov.
But Rapsys indicated he wanted to be focusing on long course in the next year in preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. All of the World Cup stops this fall will be held in long course in contrast to the ISL meets that will be in short course meters. Some athletes have said that they are looking forward to racing in SCM to get their minds off of racing long course, but athletes like Rapsys are thinking differently.
As reported by a Lithuanian news outlet 15min, Danas Rapsys said, “The main target is the Olympic Games. The upcoming competition will be in the 50 meter pool, which is good for me in preparation for Tokyo. I could even try to change technique because there was a lack of important competition in the long pool.”
“We calculated that those swimmers who work hard and can play well in the World Cup earn a lot. For other swimmers, the ISL competition is a tastier pie, so they will swim there,” Rapsys said.
Danas Rapsys swam very well at the three World Cup stops in Asia immediately after the World Championships, scoring season bests in the 200 free (1:44.38) and was also a 3:43.91 in the 400, right on his season best.
Rapsys was third in the World Cup points standings behind Russia’s Vladimir Morozov and USA’s Andrew Wilson, who have both signed on to swim in the ISL this fall. The top male swimmer of the World Cup circuit will win $150,000, which would be higher than the winning payout of the winning ISL team.
The next FINA World Cup meet will be in Budapest October 4-6, the same weekend as the first ISL meet in Indianapolis.
Italy’s Gabriele Detti has also pulled out of the ISL as he was going to compete for the Aqua Centurions. Fellow Energy Standard team member Andrei Minakov also confirmed to Swimming World that he was going to drop out of the ISL in order to save his amateur status to be able to compete in the NCAA. Italy’s Piero Codia has also dropped out of the Aqua Centurions team.
The Energy Standard team without Rapsys now looks like this.
Men’s Roster
- Simonas Bilis, LTU
- Anton Chupkov, RUS
- Chad le Clos, RSA
- Max Litchfield, GBR
- Florent Manaudou, FRA
Andrei Minakov, RUS(withdrew to focus on NCAA)- Ben Proud, GBR
Danas Rapšys, LTU(withdrew to focus on World Cup)- Mykhailo Romanchuk, UKR
- Evgeny Rylov, RUS
- Sergii Shevtsov, UKR
- Ilya Shymanovich, BLR
- Maxim Stupin, RUS
Women’s Roster
- Charlotte Bonnet, FRA
- Imogen Clark, GBR
- Georgia Davies, GBR
- Femke Heemskerk, NED
- Fantine Lesaffre, FRA
- Penny Oleksiak, CAN
- Kayla Sanchez, CAN
- Emily Seebohm, AUS
- Anastasiya Shkurdai, BLR
- Sarah Sjöström, SWE
- Kierra Smith, CAN
- Rebecca Smith, CAN
