ISL Championship (Day Two – Live Results)
The final day of the inaugural season of the International Swimming League (ISL) came down to a thrilling finish as Energy Standard came out on top with 453.5 points to edge the London Roar with 444 points. American teams Cali Condors (415.5) and LA Current (318) finished in third and fourth.
The London Roar took six events on the day and looked to be in control heading into the Skins as they were leading for the majority of the day. But they were surpassed by Energy Standard because Florent Manaudou was able to get to round three of the men’s Skins race and Ben Proud was able to get round two while the Roar had no swimmers advance out of the first round. Energy Standard had been sitting in second or third for the majority of the day in a battle with Cali Condors, but all four of their Skins swimmers advanced to the second round, providing huge points for the team.
Sarah Sjostrom – season MVP: Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia D’Alberto/LaPresse
Sarah Sjostrom was named the season MVP for the inaugural ISL as she helped propel Energy Standard to the first ever ISL team title.
“I’m so proud of this team. It’s amazing to win the first-ever league title,” Sjostrom said.
Adding Daiya Seto also proved to be a huge pick-up as he won the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 fly, including a world record in the 400 IM on Friday afternoon. He proved to be just enough as Energy Standard may also be getting stronger next season depending on if Danas Rapsys will honor his commitment to the team.
James Gibson, head coach of the Energy Standard team:
“It is absolutely fantastic. It is probably one of the most emotional swimming competitions I have ever been involved in.
“The Olympics and World Championships are obviously special but this is a totally different feeling. When you have a team, it’s a different type of emotion, it’s a lot more intense. The pressure is a lot higher. There was huge expectation on us coming into the meet. I say to my team ‘you want to be where expectation is high – that means you are good’. And We had a lot of pressure on us to come through because we knew we were a strong team.”
“I take no credit for this tonight. I had a bad meet. I’m so proud of this team: they showed real guts and character tonight. Credit to all four teams here, too. It’s been absolutely awesome.”
“I would rather have had the team title … I just wanted to do my part feel … the MVP didn’t mean anything to me, it was all about the team,” Dressel said poolside He said the league was “swimming reimagined” … “Why shouldn’t we have what the NBA and NFL have… it’s awesome.”
“I’m incredibly proud of this team .. it wasn’t supposed to do as well as this on paper: it came down to the last event for three teams. That must have been incredible for people to watch can’t ask more than that.”
Caeleb Dressel – Vegas Match MVP. Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia D’Alberto/LaPresse
He’ll be back with the Condors next season… “We definitely want to get a championship out of this team.”
The second season of the International Swimming League will start up again in September 2020 with the championship slated for April 2021.
Team Scores:
- Energy Standard – 453.5
- London Roar – 444
- Cali Condors – 415.5
- L.A. Current – 318
Follow below for a live look at the event-by-event recaps from ISL Day Two in Las Vegas:
Men’s 50 Free Skins
Round Three
Dressel claims the final round of the Skins running away from Manaudou as Dressel is the Match MVP.
“It’s really not a sprint. The first one is and there is a lot of strategy that comes into it,” said Dressel. “I don’t go all out in the first one: I did not need to cut that first one so close. There is a strategy that comes in: usually in the first one I’ll be all out for 25 and breathe every stroke coming home which is what I did, cut it a little close.
“The second one same thing and if I flip and I can see where the other guys are at and I have a comfortable lead then I’ll breathe every stroke again and that is what I do on the second. The third one, no matter what it’s all-out but there is some strategy that comes in – that’s why it’s not just who is the fastest sprinter: it does take a lot of endurance.
“Two minutes is not as long as you think, it doesn’t even sound that long but when you are behind the blocks by the time I am going down and back I have got a minute when I get out the pool. So it is tricky, and it’s quite brutal, especially at the end of the meet. It would be a lot better if it was at the beginning but it is good fun. It deserves to be put at the end, it’s a highlight of the meet and the pressure is on and I enjoy what the skins does have to offer.”
Round Two
Caeleb Dressel and Florent Manaudou advanced to the final as that seemingly secures the victory for Energy Standard. Adrian and Proud do not advance.
- Caeleb Dressel – Condors, 21.76*
- Florent Manaudou – Energy, 22.19*
Nathan Adrian – Current, 22.43Ben Proud – Energy, 23.12
“My message to Flo was if you get into the top two we win the meet,” said Energy Standard coach James Gibson. “I looked him straight in the eye – he had these big eyes – and said that and he goes ‘thanks mate’ or the French, merci.”
“I think it’s important: it’s just relaying the message. And also its tactics of the skins: there are different strategies, obviously Caeleb has got supreme endurance, Flo is more of a front-end guy, a big, heavier guy so he needs to play to his strengths. Poor old Benny (Ben Proud) in the second round, his message was survive.”
Round One
Florent Manaudou, Caeleb Dressel, Ben Proud and Nathan Adrian advance to the second round. This was huge for Energy Standard as Kyle Chalmers and Duncan Scott did not advance for the London Roar.
- Florent Manaudou, Energy, 20.84*
- Caeleb Dressel, Condors, 20.89*
- Nathan Adrian, Current, 20.98*
- Ben Proud, Energy, 21.00*
Kyle Chalmers, Roar, 21.11Duncan Scott, Roar, 21.28Michael Chadwick, Current, 21.37Bowe Becker, Condors, 21.50
Women’s 50 Free Skins
Round Three
Sarah Sjostrom dominated the final round as she officially won the season MVP award with the win over Campbell.
- Sarah Sjostrom – Energy – 24.32
- Cate Campbell – Roar – 25.63
Round Two
Sarah Sjostrom and Cate Campbell squeak to the final round of the 50 free Skins as it is an Energy vs. London finale. Heemskerk and McKeon do not advance.
- Sarah Sjostrom – Energy – 23.98**
- Cate Campbell – Roar – 24.19**
Femke Heemskerk – Energy – 24.21Emma McKeon – Roar – 24.48
“I don’t normally come out on to deck: it was just to clarify my message,” said Energy Standard head coach James Gibson. “It was a very simple message to Sarah: it was to get yourself into the final, no mistakes.” (Sarah interjects – so no pressure and laughs)
Round One
Cate Campbell, Femke Heemskerk, Sarah Sjostrom and Emma McKeon advanced to the second round of the women’s Skins 50 free to make it an Energy vs. Roar semi final.
The Condors have been eliminated from winning the team title as Olivia Smoliga and Kasia Wasick did not advance.
- Cate Campbell, Roar, 23.46*
- Sarah Sjostrom, Energy, 23.66*
- Femke Heemskerk, Energy, 23.72*
- Emma McKeon, Roar, 23.87*
Kasia Wasick, Condors, 23.88Beryl Gastaldello, Current, 24.01Olivia Smoliga, Condors, 24.08Farida Osman, Current, 24.45
Men’s 200 Fly
Daiya Seto claimed his third win of the weekend with a 1:48.77 to win the 200 butterfly after wins in both IMs this weekend. Seto finished 1-3 with Energy Standard teammate Chad Le Clos as Jack Conger of the LA Current split the pair in second place. With just the Skins events to go, Energy Standard is 22.5 points away from the London Roar and are two points ahead of the Condors.
- Daiya Seto, Energy, 1:48.77 *U.S. Open record
- Jack Conger, Current, 1:50.46
- Chad le Clos, Energy, 1:50.63
- Tom Shields, Current, 1:51.04
- James Guy, Roar, 1:51.94
- Vini Lanza, Roar, 1:53.02
- Jan Switkowski, Condors, 1:53.36
- Mark Szaranek, Condors, 1:55.67
Women’s 200 Fly
Hali Flickinger won the 200 butterfly from lane eight for the Cali Condors with a 2:05.12 as she picked up valuable points for the Condors with Kelsi Dahlia finishing in third. Reigning Olympic champion Mireia Belmonte came up huge for the Roar with a second place finish as she has not been on form this season, but came up big when the Roar needed her the most.
- Hali Flickinger, Condors, 2:05.12
- Mireia Belmonte, Roar, 2:05.82
- Kelsi Dahlia, Condors, 2:06.09
- Holly Hibbot, Roar, 2:06.21
- Ella Eastin, Current, 2:06.43
- Mary-Sophie Harvey, Energy, 2:08.30
- Katie McLaughlin, Current, 2:08.80
- Anastasiya Shkurdai, Energy, 2:12.35
Coaches at 2nd break: Is it still possible to win?
Mel Marshall, Roar: “I’m always confident in this team but it comes down to the day… its about Team Chemistry … and a lucky sock.” (387)
James Gibson, Energy: “We knew it [would come down to] three 50s for men and women [the skins]. The ISL will be decided on that. It’s unpredictable.” (365.5)
Gregg Troy, Condors: “It’s possible but there;’s no room for error.” (363.5)
Mixed 4×100 Free
Energy Standard won a hard fought battle in the mixed free relay as Penny Oleksiak won the race at the end over Emma McKeon of the London Roar. The team of Simonas Bilis, Sergey Shvetsov, Kayla Sanchez and Oleksiak won with a 3:15.97 ahead of the Roar and the Cali Condors.
Energy Standard moved into second place ahead of the Condors with that win as there are four events remaining.
- Energy Standard (Bilis, Shevtsov, Sanchez, Oleksiak) – 3:15.97
- London Roar (Chalmers, Scott, B. Campbell, McKeon) – 3:16.03
- Cali Condors (Dressel, Ress, Comerford, Hinds) – 3:17.75
- London Roar (Kisil, Graham, Ottesen, Wattel) – 3:18.27
- Energy Standard (Girev, Zirk, Bonnet, Smith) – 3:19.80
- LA Current (Carter, Pieroni, Tetzloff, Mack) – 3:20.61
- Cali Condors (Majchrzak, Jackson, Titmus, Bro) – 3:21.18
- LA Current (Held, Seliskar, Banic, Stewart) – 3:22.84
Women’s 100 Back
Make that six wins on the day for the London Roar as Minna Atherton won the 100 back with a 55.09, just off her own world record of 54.89 from October. She got her first win of the weekend as she won ahead of Condors’ Olivia Smoliga and fellow Aussie Emily Seebohm of Energy Standard.
- Minna Atherton – Roar, 55.09 *U.S. Open record
- Olivia Smoliga – Condors, 55.98
- Emily Seebohm – Energy, 56.54
- Kylie Masse – Condors, 56.55
- Amy Bilquist – Current, 57.33
- Georgia Davies – Energy, 57.74
- Kathleen Baker – Current, 58.89
- Holly Barratt – Roar, 1:00.27
Men’s 100 Back
Guilherme Guido put up yet another win for the London Roar with a 49.50 in the 100 back as he won the fifth event on the day for the Roar as they push for the first ever ISL team title. The Russian duo of Kliment Kolesnikov and Evgeny Rylov picked up a big 2-3 finish for Energy Standard as they are closing the gap on the Condors for second place, sitting just five points back with six events to go.
Guido paid plaudits to head coach Mel Marshall:
“I made it for the team. I just want to say congratulations to Mel [Marshall, head coach, Roar] for her leadership. It’s been amazing working with her and the team.”
- Guilherme Guido – Roar, 49.50
- Kliment Kolesnikov – Energy, 49.53
- Evgeny Rylov – Energy, 49.55
- Ryan Murphy – Current, 49.88
- Matt Grevers – Current, 49.95
- Christian Diener – Roar, 50.45
- Radoslaw Kawecki – Condors, 51.01
- Mitch Larkin – Condors, 51.42
Women’s 50 Fly
Beryl Gastaldello made some noise for the LA Current as she scored an upset win over Sarah Sjostrom of Energy Standard as the French woman ended the season with four wins and no losses in this event. Gastaldello won with a 24.88 ahead of Sjostrom and her good friend Marie Wattel of the London Roar. This was huge for Energy Standard who were going to be relying on people like Sjostrom to pick up wins to try and get back in the team standings at the end.
- Beryl Gastaldello – Current, 24.88
- Sarah Sjostrom – Energy, 25.03
- Marie Wattel – Roar, 25.17
- Kelsi Dahlia – Condors, 25.22
- Faria Osman – Current, 25.51
- Holly Barratt – Roar, 25.63
- Anastasiya Shkurdai – Energy, 25.77
- Natalie Hinds – Condors, 25.91
Men’s 50 Fly
Caeleb Dressel continued his perfect weekend with a new American record in the 50 butterfly with a 22.06, lowering his 22.21 from the American Derby last month in Washington DC. Dressel won ahead of the powerful sprint duo from Energy Standard of Chad Le Clos and Florent Manaudou.
On doing so many events: “It hurt – it wasn’t easy – but then again I wanted to swim wherever I was needed,” Dressel said. “I said in college whichever one needs me, that is where I am going to swim. I want to swim wherever the team needs me because we are here to get points, that is what my job is to do, they need to use me as the workhorse then I will be more than happy to be the workhorse.
“50 breast was not to try and rack up my MVP points – I want to clear that up – someone asked me earlier and I was like ‘oh no, that was not was I trying to do’ – it was just to try and get points for the team. I did a horrible job of doing that 50 breast but that is what my job is here and I am happy in that.”
- Caeleb Dressel – Condors, 22.06 *U.S. Open record
- Chad le Clos – Energy, 22.48
- Florent Manaudou – Energy, 22.53
- Tom Shields – Current, 22.80
- John Shebat – Condors, 22.80
- Jack Conger – Current, 22.98
- Vini Lanza – Roar, 22.99
- Kirill Prigoda – Roar, 23.98
Women’s 200 IM
Sydney Pickrem continued the momentum for the London Roar as she defeated Melanie Margalis of the Cali Condors in the 200 IM with a 2:04.85. Margalis finished in second ahead of Kayla Sanchez of Energy Standard. Margalis had not lost all season in either IM race but Pickrem ended that streak as she extended the lead for the Roar with nine events to go.
- Sydney Pickrem, Roar, 2:04.85
- Melanie Margalis, Condors, 2:05.32
- Kayla Sanchez, Energy, 2:06.37
- Kelsey Wog, Condors, 2:07.04
- Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Roar, 2:07.38
- Ella Eastin, Current, 2:07.71
- Mary-Sophie Harvey, Energy, 2:08.01
- Kathleen Baker, Current, 2:08.08
Men’s 200 IM
Daiya Seto picked up his second win of the weekend at the ISL Final in Vegas as he won the 200 IM with a dominating swim of 1:50.76. A day after swimming a new world record in the 400 IM, he pulled away from the rest of the field to win the 200. Seto finished ahead of Duncan Scott of the London Roar, who has been huge for the team this weekend, and Josh Prenot of the LA Current.
- Daiya Seto, Energy, 1:50.76 *U.S. Open record
- Duncan Scott, Roar, 1:51.85
- Josh Prenot, Current, 1:53.75
- Mitch Larkin, Condors, 1:53.83
- Chase Kalisz, Current, 1:54.44
- Finlay Knox, Roar, 1:55.12
- Mark Szaranek, Condors, 1:55.44
- Maxim Stupin, Energy, 1:56.52
Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay
The Cali Condors won the women’s medley relay as Mallory Comerford held on a hard charge from Cate Campbell of the London Roar on the final leg, with the Birds taking out the Lions at 3:46.82. Third place went to the London Roar B team.
The team of Olivia Smoliga, Lilly King, Kelsi Dahlia and Comerford helped score 26 points for the Condors as their B team was fifth.
- Cali Condors (Smoliga, King, Dahlia, Comerford) 3:46.82
- London Roar (Atherton, Vasey, McKeon, C. Campbell) 3:47.27
- London Roar (Barratt, Hansen, Wattel, B. Campbell) 3:49.23
- Energy Standard (Seebohm, Ulyett, Shkurdai, Heemskerk) 3:49.68
- Cali Condors (Masse, Hannis, Hinds, Margalis) 3:50.72
- LA Current (Baker, Lazor, Osman, Tetzloff) 3:50.75
- Energy Standard (Davies, Clark, Smith, Oleksiak) 3:51.29
- LA Current (Bilquist, Conceicao, Stewart, Mack) DQ
Men’s 400 Free
James Guy of the London Roar, who hasn’t been scoring too many points in the ISL this season due to his weaknesses in the short course venue, came up huge on Saturday at the ISL Vegas final with a win in the 400 free. Guy had a well-paced race as he went 1-2 with teammate Elijah Winnington, winning at 3:39.99, picking up 16 huge points. There was a tie for third place with Max Litchfield of Energy Standard and Townley Haas of the Cali Condors.
- James Guy, Roar, 3:39.99
- Eliah Winnington, Roar, 3:40.43
- Max Litchfield, Energy, 3:40.86
- Townley Haas, Condors, 3:40.86
- Anton Ipsen, Condors, 3:41.21
- Kregor Zirk, Energy, 3:42.12
- Andrew Seliskar, Current, 3:42.19
- Blake Pieroni, Current, 3:48.74
Women’s 400 Free
Ariarne Titmus of the Cali Condors got the 12th win of the weekend for the Condors as she was out right on her own world record pace but fell off on the last 100 with a final time of 3:56.21. She missed her own world record of 3:53.8 set last year but it was good enough for the win ahead of Holly Hibbott of the London Roar and Leah Smith of the LA Current.
Titmus helped move the Condors into second place with 13 events to go.
- Ariarne Titmus, Condors, 3:56.21
- Holly Hibbott, Roar, 3:57.45
- Leah Smith, Condors, 3:59.75
- Hali Flickinger, Condors, 4:02.14
- Mireia Belmonte, Roar, 4:02.18
- Charlotte Bonnet, Energy, 4:02.18
- Fantine Lesaffre, Energy, 4:06.73
- Ella Eastin, Current, 4:09.44
Men’s 100 Breast
Adam Peaty of the London Roar got his team back in the lead with a 55.92 in winning the 100 breaststroke, just missing the world record of 55.61 from Cameron van der Burgh. Peaty is not known as a short course swimmer, hence why he had a bit of a challenge from second place Ilya Shymanovich of Energy Standard and Nic Fink of Energy Standard. Fink won both the 50 and 200 breaststroke events yesterday but could not complete the hat trick as the 100 breast master Peaty got the win.
Peaty was able to get under his own British record with this swim.
“I really wanted that … I took it on and it was about giving the team momentum. It was disappointing yesterday (second to Nic Fink in the 50m breaststroke) … so I wanted to make it count,” Peaty said.
Did he think the Roar could still be in with a shot at winning the big team prize?
“Definitely,” said Peaty. “We’re Lions here to hunt.”
- Adam Peaty – Roar 55.92 *U.S. Open record
- Ilya Shymanovich – Energy 56.55
- Nic Fink – Condors 56.71
- Kirill Prigoda – Roar 56.74
- Felipe Lima – Current 56.83
- Will Licon – Current 57.19
- Anton Chuokov – Energy 57.53
- Andrew Wilson – Condors 58.01
Women’s 100 Breast
Lilly King made it two straight wins for the Cali Condors as she won the 100 breast with a 1:03.71, finishing first and third with Condor teammate Molly Hannis. The LA Current’s Annie Lazor finished in second for some valuable points for the team that is starting to lose touch with the rest of the field. King remains undefeated in the ISL season across the breaststroke events.
“It wasn’t quite as fast as I wanted but I’ll take the win for the team,” King said.
2008 double distance freestyle champion Becky Adlington asked: “12 from 12 wins. Is that what you wanted?”
King laughed and replied: “Well, winning is better than losing – so, yeah!”
- Lilly King Condors, 1:03.71
- Annie Lazor Current, 1:04.07
- Molly Hannis Condors, 1:04.74
- Sydney Pickrem Roar, 1:04.83
- J Hansen Roar, 1:05.27
- J Conceicao Current, 1:05.73
- Jocelyn Ulyett Energy, 1:05.78
- Kierra Smith Energy, 1:06.82
Men’s 100 Free
Caeleb Dressel of the Cali Condors looked to be on pace to break his second world record of the ISL final as he was out quick the first 50 but he ultimately fell off pace, probably feeling the heavy event-load he swam on Friday where he did four events in the span of two hours. Dressel swam a 45.22 to break his own American record of 45.62 from last year’s World Championships, falling off the 44.9 world record of Amaury Leveaux from 2008. Dressel is still shy of the non-ratified American record of 45.08 set by Nathan Adrian in a banned polyurthane suit in December 2009. Dressel broke the US Open record with his swim.
Kyle Chalmers and Duncan Scott gave the London Roar a 2-3 finish as they push for the team title.
- Caeleb Dressel Condors, 45.22 *U.S. Open record
- Kyle Chalmers, Roar, 45.55
- Duncan Scott, Roar, 46.09
- Sergey Shevtsov, Energy, 46.41
- Nathan Adrian, Current, 46.62
- Michael Chadwick, Current, 46.71
- Chad le Clos, Energy, 46.95
- Bowe Becker, Condors, 47.39
Women’s 100 Free
Emma McKeon of the London Roar won the first event of the day in the 100 freestyle with a 51.38 as she held off a hard charging Sarah Sjostrom of Energy Standard. Cate Campbell of the London Roar took it out hard but fell back on the final 25 as she settled for third place.
- Emma McKeon – Roar – 51.38
- Sarah Sjostrom – Energy – 51.50
- Cate Campbell – Roar – 51.68
- Kayla Sanchez – Energy – 51.71
- Natalie Hinds – Condors – 52.01
- Mallory Commerford – Condors – 52.26
- Beryl Gastaldello – Current – 52.38
- Amy Bilquist – Current – 53.75
