2019 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – EUROPEAN DERBY
- Saturday, November 23 – Sunday, November 24, 2019
- 5:00-7:00 PM Local Time (12:00 noon – 2:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Time)
- London Aquatics Centre – London, England
- Short Course Meters (SCM) format
- European franchises: Aqua Centurions, Energy Standard, Iron, London Roar
- Start Lists
- Day 1 Complete Results (with Corrected MVP Standings)
SwimSwam’s Nick Pecoraro is providing analysis in italics below the results
After the initial round of “Group A” and “Group B” meets, all four European teams in the inaugural International Swim League season square off this weekend in London, England. The top two teams – based on combined results of previous meets and this one – will head to Las Vegas next month for the ISL championship, and the other two teams will head home.
TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 1
- Energy Standard – 238
- London Roar – 224
- Aqua Centurions – 178
- Iron – 165
WOMEN’S 100 FLY
- Emma McKeon, LON – 55.95
- Sarah Sjostrom, ENS – 56.33
- Marie Wattel, LON – 56.39
- Elena di Liddo, AQC – 56.97
- Maria Ugolkova, IRO – 57.15
- Anastasiya Shkurdai, ENS – 57.38
- Ilaria Bianchi, AQC – 57.40
- Ranomi Kromowidjojo, IRO – 57.60
London Roar Kicked off the meet with a 1-3 finish, getting out to the early lead in the all important team battle. Emma McKeon sped home to break away from the field and touch the wall first in 55.95. Ranomi Kromowidjojo was fast off the start, but faded over the course of the race, finishing in 8th.
Emma McKeon and Marie Wattel snagging 1st and 3rd in the 100 fly is an amazing start to this European derby. Sarah Sjostrom, unfortunately, was not able to take out the Aussie sensation for the 9-point win. Kromowidjojo finishing 8th was not a good start for the Iron, yet the skins will hopefully go better for the Dutch star. The Aqua Centurions’ swimmers, di Liddo and Bianchi, actually out-scored Iron in this event by 2 points.
MEN’S 100 FLY
- Chad le Clos, ENS – 49.34
- Matteo Rivolta, AQC – 50.24
- Vini Lanza, LON – 50.59
- Szebasztian Szabo, IRO – 50.77
- James Guy, LON – 51.18
- Philip Heintz, AQC – 51.26
- Kregor Zirk, ENS – 51.61
- Adam Telegdy, IRO – 52.17
Chad le Clos picked up Energy Standard’s first event win of the day, blowing away the field to touch in 49.34.
While female counterpart Sjostrom did not win one of her signature events, Energy’s le Clos crushed the event with the lone sub-50 swim. However, it is vital to note that teammate Zirk finished in 7th, therefore, only 11 points were scored. For the Roar, Guy and Lanza were able to get 10 points, not letting Energy scale up too much on them. Once again for the Aqua Centurions, Rivolta’s runner-up finish (7 pts) and Heintz’s 3-point snag was able to out-score Iron by 5 points.
WOMEN’S 50 BREAST
- Alia Atkinson, IRO – 29.32
- Imogen Clark, ENS – 29.44
- Martina Carraro, AQC – 29.64
- Arianna Castiglioni, AQC – 29.71
- Jenna Laukkanen, IRO – 29.93
- Sarah Vasey, LON – 30.20
- Emily Seebohm, ENS – 30.32
- Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, LON – 30.47
Alia Atkinson won a tight race at the end, giving Iron its first win of the meet, and establishing what looks like it could be a tough team battle this weekend.
After a slow start in the fly, Alia Atkinson brought it back home strong for the Iron with her tight win in the sprint breast. The Aqua Centurions continue to excel here in London with Carraro and Castiglioni picking up 11 points. While Imogen Clark took second for Energy, the choice to use backstroker Emily Seebohm in this event backfired with her 7th-place finish. The London Roar was outshined with Vasey and O’Connor only taking 4 points.
MEN’S 50 BREAST
- Fabio Scozzoli, AQC – 25.62
- Vlad Morozov, IRO – 25.89
- Ilya Shymanovich, ENS – 25.97
- Adam Peaty, LON – 26.00
- Nicolo Martinenghi, AQC – 26.11
- PJ Stevens, IRO – 26.50
- Kirill Prigoda, LON – 26.57
- Anton Chupkov, ENS – 26.78
In a shocker, Adam Peaty was upset in London in a sprint breaststroke event. Not only getting beaten, but finishing in 4th with a pedestrian (for Peaty) 26.00. Fabio Scozzoli won the event, giving the Aqua Centurions their first event win of the day. With that win, all four teams have now won an event four events into the meet. Typically a strong breaststroke squad, the London Roar were held to a 4-7 finish in this race.
Adam Peaty not winning his signature event was a huge hit for the London Roar, as him and Prigoda picked up 7 points. Another surprise was Cenutrion Scozzoli crushing Italian countryman Martinenghi in the sprint breast for the win, yet the duo’s efforts was worth 13 points to put them in the lead. Energy’s Chupkov did not have a good swim, yet he is more of a 200 swimmer in contrast to 3rd-place teammate Shymanovich.
WOMEN’S 400 IM
- Katinka Hosszu, IRO – 4:25.44
- Fantine Lesaffre, ENS – 4:26.41
- Sydney Pickrem, LON – 4:27.59
- Zsuszanna Jakabos, IRO – 4:27.99
- Mary-Sophie Harvey, ENS – 4:30.07
- Hannah Miley, AQC – 4:32.13
- Boglarka Kapas, LON – 4:34.54
- Franziska Hentke, AQC – 4:35.60
“She never gives in. She does not like to lose any race.” That’s what the announcers were saying as Katinka Hosszu turned in 2nd going into the last 100. That analysis was proven correct, when Hosszu then turned it on and swam away with the race, winning her signiature event yet again. Iron picked up a 1-4 finish here, leading the pack.
To no suprise, Iron Lady Hosszu topped one of her best events along with countrymate Jakabos taking 4th place. Energy Standard has not be as dominant as they were in their Group A competitions, yet Lesafree was able to out-touch Roar’s Pickrem for 2nd place. Hannah Miley of the Aqua Centurions improved to a 6th-place finish after struggling during the first part of the season, yet the squad only got 4 points with Hentke taking 8th.
MEN’S 400 IM
- Maxim Stupen, ENS – 4:04.39
- Duncan Scott, LON – 4:04.55
- Gunnar Bentz, IRO – 4:05.83
- Max Litchfield, ENS – 4:05.87
- Jeremy Desplanches, IRO – 4:06.14
- Laszlo Cseh, AQC – 4:08.13
- Finlay Knox, LON – 4:09.68
- Philip Henitz, AQC – 4:11.79
Maxim Stupen established the lead and didn’t let go when Duncan Scott was charging at the end of the race. Scott came close, but ultimately fell just short of getting the win in his home country. Energy Standard picked up another big finish, this time coming in 1-4, the best in the field.
After going crazy at BUCS, Duncan Scott impressed again at his ISL debut as he chased down Energy’s Stupin for the 9-point win. Fortunately for Energy, Stupin was able to hold off the British star as teammate also took 4th place for a 13-point team point contribution. Iron’s Bentz, the lone American at this derby, is now 3-for-3 taking third yet again in this IM event. The Centurions, after a fanastatic run in the sprint breast, did not go as planned with Cseh and Heintz contributing just 4 points.
WOMEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY
- Energy Standard 2 – 3:26.55
- London Roar – 3:28.77
- London Roar 2 – 3:29.87
- Aqua Centurions – 3:30.01
- Iron – 3:32.48
- Energy Standard – 3:34.45
- Iron 2 – 3:36.30
- Aqua Centurions 2 – 3:39.24
Energy Standard’s 2nd relay swam away with the race, touching first by over 2 seconds. London Roar opted to try maximizing points, coming in 2nd and 3rd, and vaulting them into 2nd in the team standings. Energy Standard heads into the first break in 1st place as a team. Energy Standard’s time came in just .02 seconds off the 3:26.53 World Record held by the Dutch.
The Energy Standard once again impressed in the relays with their 9th relay win of the season. Important to note that London Roar out-scored Energy by 2 points with their 2-3 finish. The Aqua Centurions are continuing to improve from their first two meets as they scored higher than the Iron in this event.
Thanks to the women’s free relay, Energy Standard claims the early lead by 7 points over the London Roar. Sitting in third by 9 points is the Iron yet the Aqua Centurions faded to 4th by 11 points after having massive success in the men’s breast.
SCORE UPDATE THROUGH FIRST BREAK
- Energy Standard – 86
- London Roar – 79
- Iron – 70
- Aqua Centurions – 59
MEN’S 200 BACK
- Evgeny Rylov, ENS – 1:49.67
- Christian Diener, LON – 1:50.36
- Travis Mahoney, AQC – 1:51.01
- Adam Telegdy, IRO – 1:52.06
- Apostolos Christou, 1:53.27
- Peter Bernek, LON – 1:53.95
- Robert Glinta, IRO – 1:54.38
- Kregor Zirk, ENS – 1:59.52
Generally considered the top 200 backstroker in the world currently, Evgeny Rylov got it done again, leading through the race and touching the wall first. Unfortunately for Energy Standard, Zirk Kregor came in 8th, getting a -1 point penalty for the time, which diminishes some of the gains they could have made in the team standings.
Evgeny Rylov swept all three 200 back events thus far, yet because of Zirk’s 1:59, only 9 points were contributed to Energy Standard. London’s Diener attempted to put up a great race yet settled for runner-up. But both the Roar and the Aqua Centurions out-scored Energy Standard despite Rylov’s win.
WOMEN’S 200 BACK
- Minna Atherton, LON – 1:59.25
- Margherita Panziera, AQC – 2:02.36
- Emily Seebohm, ENS – 2:03.65
- Kira Toussaint, IRO – 2:04.18
- Mary-Sophie Harvey, ENS – 2:05.12
- Katinka Hosszu, IRO – 2:06.22
- Sydney Pickrem, LON – 2:06.46
- Silvia Scalia, AQC – 2:08.09
Minna Atherton nearly broke her 2nd World Record this ISL season after giving an interview claiming she was unsure how she would perform this weekend. Atherton’s time came in just .02 seconds off the World Record, establishing the top time in the world this year, and earning her the win by 3 seconds.
The Aussie darling of the London Roar, Minna Atherton, put the team back into top contention with another record-breaking swim. While Aqua Centurion Panziera was the next fastest swimmer, teammate Scalia’ 8th-place finish only snagged 8 points total. For the Iron, Katinka Hosszu faded to a 6th-place finish, which also got 8 points with Touissant’s 4th-place finish. Topping the event point totals was Energy Standard as Seebohm and Harvey grabbed 10 points.
MEN’S 50 FREE
- Florent Manadou, ENS – 20.57
- Vlad Morozov, IRO – 20.77
- Ben Proud, ENS – 21.22
- Kristian Gkolomeev, AQC – 21.41
- Szebasztian Szabo, IRO – 21.48
- Vladislav Grinev, AQC – 21.60
- Duncan Scott, LON – 21.63
- Yuri Kisil, LON – 21.64
Florent Manadou got it done again in a huge performance by Energy Standard. Ben Proud also gave ENS the 3rd place finish, establishing a 15 point lead following this race.
Manaudou and Proud continue to bring the sprint energy for Energy Standard with a great 1-3 finish. With Iron falling behind in 3rd, Morozov’s second 7-point finish was crucial for the team alongside Szabo’s 5th-place finish. The London Roar took a big hit in this 50 event as versatile Brit Duncan Scott only managed 7th place with teammate Kisil taking 8th.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE
- Cate Campbell, LON – 23.48
- Sarah Sjostrom, ENS – 23.52
- Kayla Sanchez, ENS – 23.81
- Ranomi Kromwidjojo, IRO – 23.86
- Emma McKeon, LON – 23.96
- Freya Anderson, AQC – 24.24
- Kim Busch, IRO – 24.32
- Silvia di Pietro, 24.70
Cate Campbell upset Sarah Sjostrom, handing Sojostrom her first loss of the season, and helping to slow the momentum Energy Standard has started to accumulate today.
Sarah Sjsotrom got outshined yet again in a dominant event of her repertoire, this time by Roar’s Cate Campbell. However, Sjostrom and Energy teammate Sanchez finished with a 13-point swing as Emma McKeon‘s 5th-place effort also gave the Roar 13 points.
MEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY
1. Energy Standard 2 – 3:23.14
2. London Roar 2 – 3:23.56
3. Aqua Centurions 1 – 3:24.68
4. Energy Standard 1 – 3:25.77
5. London Roar 1 – 3:28.95
6. Iron 1 – 3:29.30
7. Aqua Centurions 2 – 3:29.54
8. Iron 2 – 3:30.56
This relay looked like it was all London roar, until Energy Standard charged back on the final leg, taking the lead and finishing first.
James Gibson, deemed the ‘relay master’, has put Energy Standard in a great lead thanks to their 1-4 finish in the men’s medley relay. The London Roar just got out-scored with a 2-5 finish. The Aqua Centurion men continue to bring it for the Italy-based team as their 3-7 finish put them behind Iron by 6 points in the team totals.
SCORE UPDATE THROUGH SECOND BREAK
- Energy Standard – 161
- London Roar – 138
- Iron – 111
- Aqua Centurions – 105
WOMEN’S 200 FREE
Kayla Sanchez – ENS – 1:52.72
2. Femke Heemskerk – ENS – 1:53.22
3. Federica Pellegrini – AQC – 1:53.28
4. Emma McKeon – LON – 1:53.32
5. Freya Anderson – AQC – 1:53.33
6. Holly Hibbott – LON – 1:53.62
7. Veronika Andrusenko – IRO – 1:54.80
8. Katinka Hosszu – 1:57.25
Kayla Sanchez charged home to gain yet another win for Energy Standard. Emma McKeon, who has been solid as a rock this season in the 200 free, fell to 4th today, meking her first loss in the event. McKeon is notably swimming a tougher schedule this weekend than in weekends past. Energy Standard is showing no signs of slowing down, taking a 1-2 finish thanks to Femke Heemskerk taking 2nd behind Sanchez. Freya Anderson broke the British Record with her 5th place finish.
After taking third in the 50 free, Kayla Sanchez and sprinter Femke Heemskerk have brought Energy Standard way into the lead with a 1-2 sweep. Pellegrini and Anderson’s 3-5 finish have actually put the Aqua Centurions into the narrow lead over the Iron for 3rd-place in the team standings with Andrusenko and Hosszu only getting 3 points off this event.
MEN’S 200 FREE
1. Alex Graham – LON – 1:42.55
2. Breno Correia – AQC – 1:42.93
3. Vladislav Grinev – AQC – 1:43.58
4. Chad le Clos – ENS – 1:44.57
5. James Guy – LON – 1:44.61
6. Pieter Timmers – IRO – 1:45.35
7. Henrik Christiansin – 1:46.19
8. Iven Girev – ENS – 1:46.37
Alex Graham breathed some much-needed life into London Roar, giving them a win in an event where Energy Standard struggled. Graham has been a 200 powerhouse this season, continuing to be a huge asset for London.
The London Roar and the Aqua Centurions had a stellar event finish with both teams grabbing 13 points a piece. Unfortunately for the Iron, their performance in London continues to take a hit with only 5 points snagged. Chad le Clos and Ivan Girev underperformed in this event for Energy with a 4-8 finish.
WOMEN’S 50 BACK
2. Kira Toussaint – IRO – 26.37
3. Georgia Davies – ENS – 26.45
4. Holly Barratt – LON – 26.53
5. Silvia Scalia – AQC – 26.61
6. Emily Seebohm – ENS – 26.75
7. Elena di Liddo – AQC – 26.79
8. Ranomi Kromowidjojo – IRO – 26.89
MEN’S 50 BACK
1. Guilherme Guido – LON – 22.82
2. Florent Manaudou – ENS – 23.31
3. Kliment Kolesnikov – ENS – 23.43
4. Christian Diener – LON – 23.79
5. Apostolos Christou – AQC – 23.87
6. Simone Sabbioni – AQC – 23.88
7. Richard Bohus – IRO – 24.03
8. Robert Glinta – IRO – 24.19
WOMEN’S 200 BREAST
2. Fanny Lecluyse – IRO – 2:19.76
3. Kierra Smith – ENS – 2:20.49
4. Martina Carraro – AQC – 2:20.96
5. Kayla van der Merwe – ENS – 2:22.10
6. Arianna Castiglioni – AQC – 2:23.00
7. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor – LON – 2:23.06
8. Alia Atkinson – IRO – 2:25.10
MEN’S 200 BREAST
2. Adam Peaty – LON – 2:04.63
3. Ilya Shymanovich – ENS – 2:04.92
4. Kirill Prigoda – LON – 2:05.35
5. Ross Murdoch – IRO – 2:07.40
6. Jeremy Desplanches – IRO – 2:08.61
7. Fabio Scozzoli – AQC – 2:08.63
8. Nicolo Martinenghi – AQC – 2:10.53
MEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY
2. Iron 1 – 3:07.86
3. London Roar 2 – 3:08.70
4. Energy Standard 1 – 3:09.24
5. Aqua Centurions 2 – 3:10.85
6. Iron 2 – 3:12.10
7. London Roar 1 – 3:18.10
8. Energy Standard 2 – DSQ
TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 1
- Energy Standard – 238
- London Roar – 224
- Aqua Centurions – 178
- Iron – 165
Have any Aussies actually been waking/staying up to watch ISL live? Or just watching the replay like me?
I’m lucky enough to live in the U.S. and have them schedule the optimal time for my viewing pleasure. I don’t really recommend waking/staying up because, while it is fun to watch the comment section here and give hot takes, it’s not too lively overall. It was way more exciting during World Champs a few months ago.
world champs comment section is always with the Olympics the best ….of the best .
Replay. But sevenplus takes a while to put it up.Sunday is the only day this household can sleep in .will catch the last 30 minutes live tomorrow
Even while missing key swimmers, swimming slower, some questionable tactics and ENS swimming faster than earlier meets Roar are still within reach albeit helped a bit by that DQ.
I couldn’t watch the last half hour of the meet – who dqd the relay?
Ivan Girev. Same as last time.
Thanks – the “relay master” didn’t hit it out of the park this time I guess
Did he train at UVa?
Wait a minute. I think the MVP calcs are wrong for McKeon. 9+3.5+5+4 = 21.5. She should totally be in the lead!
Same for Atherton!
We agree. Atherton we count as 21.5 as well. Made a note of that in our storylines article – we’ve asked and will update if we get a corrected standing.
It’s not just them. Cate Campbell, Holly Barratt, and Bronte Campbell (on the other relay) also didn’t get those relay points. Maybe their computer system just really dislikes the Aussies haha.
Duncan Scott one of the top-5 all around male swimmers in the world right now, change my mind
No need to because you are right.
Dressel, Seto, Morozov, Scott, (I can think of a lot of names that could go in 5th, Cseh, Heints, Shun, Larkin). Sure, I’ll buy that list.
And Lochte is still active. At least ahead of Cseh even if we are only talking about current forms.
Uh, MA gets no love? MA made it to WCs in all 4 strokes, had a reasonably high 200 IM world ranking, has had high quality 100’s of three strokes, so for sure he trumps Larkin.
I don’t know too much about Heintz and Shun. I can only recall Shun is also a good 200 freestyler, but is he good at back/breast/fly? And what is Heintz’s best times in individual strokes? I think Kalisz should be more versatile than these two. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Interesting. For the women, I’m thinking Hosszu, Sjostrom, McKeon, Ledecky, Ruck? Belmonte in previous years, not this year. Depending on the criteria that’s emphasized here.
R. Smith is a reasonably fast backstroker, not half bad at fly, and has a respectable freestyle. I’m thinking there is a case to place her in the top 5…
Haha, only a reasonably fast backstroker you say. I forgot about her, since she hasn’t done an international meet for fly and free yet. But that’s a good point, I think she can possibly replace Ruck in the top 5. Or Ledecky, if we’re emphasizing the ability to swim more strokes at a high level.
Ohashi. In addition to the IMs, she goes 57 mid and 2:07 in the flys and just went 1:08 in the 100 breast. She also goes 1:58 in the 200 free.
Seebohm. 58/2:05 backstrokes, 2:09 200 IM, decent breaststroker, has been on Aussie freestyle relays in the past.
Ferris, Ferris, Ferris, Ferris, Dressel. So no.
I think James guy under performing has hurt London roar
He had a similar performance in Budapest so nothing new here.
I don’t think he underperformed because I don’t think he was expected to do anything good here.
Still a relatively big name, so that might be why people were expecting more. I’ve been more disappointed with O’Connor’s performance so far, especially after that swimswam article hyped her up a little lol.
I don’t think either the 50 or 200 breast is really her thing to be honest. Having said that she did show some good speed on the first 100 of the 200 which suggests that she might be on to a decent time in the 100 tomorrow.
She didn’t show very good speed on the 50, but hey, maybe the 100 will be just the right distance for her.
Lmao
Think he accidentally overperformed in 2015 WCs and this is just him at baseline.
Seems like the update stopped? Missing women’s 200 Breast, men’s free relay and final team scores for day 1. I refreshed a few times and see new comments but the article still missing update for over half hour now.
The men’s relay had a DQ, makes me think they wanted all the info before posting
Thanks. Now I see what happened.
Iron is typically better on Day 2. So they have a god chance for 3rd place but not higher.
As for Iron, I do not see why did Hosszu swim the 200 free. Ajna Kesely was fresh and could do better. Why was she left with one single event for the 2 days?
Maybe because Hosszu wants to aim for MVP again? She posted a decent 200 free time in Budapest but was 2 seconds off that here.
Hosszu swam before 400IM and 30years old..
She had the exact same schedule in Budapest and swam the 200 back 4 seconds faster there. Probably in heavy training at the moment.
The 400 IM was more demanding here than in Budapest. Hosszu faded in the 200 back, which kind of foreshadowed the not so good performance in 200 free. It is a paradox that for MVP a 8th place could be more precious than dropping out and let another swimmer take over. I am not sure in the rules, can individual changes made up until the last break?
Makes sense. I mean, we know with the benefit of hindsight that she got 8th but maybe she thought she would do better? Agreed that they should’ve put Kesely in it after Hosszu’s 200 back performance. I’m pretty sure they could’ve made that change in the break right before it.
Yes, I know, it is easy to talk after the race 🙂 Tomorrow will be another day, we’ll see more