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2021 International Swimming League – Match 3, Day 1: Live Recap

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2021 International Swimming League – Season 3, Match 3

Collaborative reporting with SwimSwam’s Reid Carlson.

Match 3 of the 2021 ISL season gets underway on Thursday in Naples, Italy, with two teams we’ve seen and two we haven’t. It will be the second match for Energy Standard and NY Breakers and the first outing of the season for Iron and London Roar.

Energy Standard and London Roar finished 1-2 in the inaugural ISL season (2019), and 2-3 behind Cali Condors in 2020. Iron placed 5th in each of the last two years, while NY Breakers were 8th in 2019 and 2020.

This will be the introductory match for rookies Barbora Seemanova (Iron) and Kenzo Simons (London). Energy Standard’s Minna Atherton, the League record-holder in the 200 back, will make her season 3 debut today. We will also see more top performances from Energy Standard’s Siobhan Haughey, Chad le Clos, Sarah Sjostrom, and Evgenia Chikunova, and NY Breakers’ Abbie Wood, all of whom were among the top ten scorers on the MVP list from Matches 1 and 2.

Team Rosters/Depth Charts

Day 1 Start Lists

Lane Assignments

  • Lanes 1 & 2 – Iron
  • Lanes 3 & 4 – Energy Standard
  • Lanes 5 & 6 – London Roar
  • Lanes 7 & 8 – NY Breakers

Note that in the results below, JP means Jackpot and signifies a swimmer had their points stolen, and TS means Time Standard, meaning a swimmer failed to meet the minimum time standard in the race and thereby loses their points, though it is possible to both fall below the time standard and have points jackpotted.

Women’s 100m Butterfly

  1. SHKURDAI Anastasiya (ENS) – 56.53 (9 points)
  2. WATTEL Marie (LON) – 56.76 (7 points)
  3. CHIMROVA Svetlana (NYB) – 56.83 (6 points)
  4. BANIC Madeline (ENS) – 57.15 (5 points)
  5. SURKOVA Arina (NYB) – 57.35 (4 points)
  6. THOMAS Alys (IRO) – 57.48 (3 points)
  7. BIANCHI Ilaria (LON) – 58.03 (2 points)
  8. BECKMANN Emilie (IRO) – 58.34 (1 point)

Arina Surkova of NY Breakers led the field at the 50 mark but faded to fourth place at the finish as Anastasiya Shkurdai of Energy Standard, London Roar’s Marie Wattel, and Svetlana Chimrova from NY Breakers passed her over the second half.

It was Shkurdai’s third career ISL win in the event.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 14
  2. NY Breakers – 10
  3. London Roar – 9
  4. Iron – 4

Men’s 100m Butterfly

  1. le CLOS Chad (ENS) – 49.75 (9 points)
  2. LANZA Vini (LON) – 50.07 (7 points)
  3. MAJERSKI Jakub (NYB) – 50.14 (6 points)
  4. TEMPLE Matt (NYB) – 50.28 (5 points)
  5. SANTOS Nicholas (IRO) – 50.66 (4 points)
  6. ZIRK Kregor (ENS) – 51.08 (3 points)
  7. MORIMOTO Teppei (LON) – 51.10 (2 points)
  8. VEKOVISHCHEV Mikhail (IRO) – 51.27 (1 point)

Energy Standard’s Chad le Clos won his ninth career 100 fly final, leading from start to finish and touching in 49.75. London’s Vini Lanza (50.07), NY Breakers’ Jakub Majerski (50.14) and Matt Temple (50.28), and Iron’s Nicholas Santos (50.66) trailed behind le Clos.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 26
  2. NY Breakers – 21
  3. London Roar – 18
  4. Iron – 9

Women’s 200m Backstroke

  1. ATHERTON Minna (LON) – 2:01.98 (10 points)
  2. TOUSSAINT Kira (LON) – 2:04.86 (7 points)
  3. HARVEY Mary-Sophie (ENS) – 2:04.91 (6 points)
  4. ZEVINA Daryna (NYB) – 2:05.24 (5 points)
  5. ZAMORANO Africa (IRO) – 2:05.73 (4 points)
  6. PEDA Paulina (NYB) – 2:06.05 (3 points)
  7. LOYNING Ingeborg (IRO) – 2:06.28 (2 points)
  8. KUBOVA Simona (ENS) – 2:07.68 (0 points) JP

London Roar nabbed the top two slots in the women’s 200 back and jumped to the lead of the team race. Minna Atherton (2:01.98) led wire-to-wire, while teammate Kira Toussaint held off a hard-charging Mary-Sophie Harvey (2:04.91) of Energy Standard for second place. NY Breakers took fourth place with Daryna Sevina (2:05.24).

Atherton scored her third ISL victory in the 200 back.

Team Scores:

  1. London Roar – 35
  2. NY Breakers – 32
  3. Energy Standard – 29
  4. Iron – 15

Men’s 200m Backstroke

  1. GREENBANK Luke (LON) – 1:50.15 (12 points)
  2. DIENER Christian (LON) – 1:51.28 (7 points)
  3. GLINTA Robert (IRO) – 1:52.94 (6 points)
  4. KOLESNIKOV Kliment (ENS) – 1:53.92 (5 points)
  5. MAHONEY Travis (ENS) – 1:54.10 (4 points)
  6. MORA Lorenzo (IRO) – 1:54.41 (3 points)
  7. BRAUNSCHEIG Ole (NYB) – 1:54.82 (0 points) JP
  8. ALMEIDA Brandonn (NYB) – 1:56.18 (0 points) JP

The London men followed the women with a 1-2 punch of their own. Luke Greenbank (1:50.15) and Christian Diener (1:51.28) not only scored at 1 and 2 but they held off Energy Standard’s Kliment Kolesnikov, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist in the 100 back. Thanks to Iron’s Robert Glinta, Kolesnikov finished fourth.

Greenbank earned 3 jackpot points, stealing from NY Breakers who finished 7th and 8th.

Team Scores:

  1. London Roar – 54
  2. Energy Standard – 41
  3. NY Breakers – 29
  4. Iron – 24

Women’s 200m Breaststroke

  1. CHIKUNOVA Evgenia (ENS) – 2:17.82 (12 points)
  2. LAZOR Annie (LON) – 2:20.19 (7 points)
  3. STRAUCH Jenna (IRO) – 2:20.50 (6 points)
  4. WOOD Abbie (NYB) – 2:21.11 (5 points)
  5. RENSHAW Molly (NYB) – 2:21.26 (4 points)
  6. VALL Jessica (ENS) – 2:22.89 (3 points)
  7. ATKINSON Alia (LON) – 2:23.97 (0 points) JP
  8. HULKKO Ida (IRO) – 2:26.28 (0 points) JP

Evgenia Chikunova of Energy Standard won her the second 200 breast title, dominating the race from start to finish. She set the pace early on and held to the end, winning by 2.3 seconds ahead of Annie Lazon of London. Lazor had a powerful second half, coming from sixth place at the 50 and fifth at the 100 to pass Iron’s Jenna Strauch at the end. Lazor, who had won this event three times before, touched out Strauch 2:20.19 to 2:20.50.

New York picked up important team points with a fourth and a fifth from Abbie Wood and Molly Renshaw.

Team Scores:

  1. London Roar – 61
  2. Energy Standard – 56
  3. NY Breakers – 38
  4. Iron – 30

Men’s 200m Breaststroke

  1. PERSSON Erik (IRO) – 2:04.66 (9 points)
  2. SHYMANOVICH Ilya (ENS) – 2:04.78 (7 points)
  3. KOCH Marco (NYB) – 2:05.26 (6 points)
  4. MURDOCH Ross (LON) – 2:07.28 (5 points)
  5. REITSHAMMER Bernhard (IRO) – 2:07.50 (4 points)
  6. WILLIAMSON Sam (LON) – 2:07.53 (3 points)
  7. SWANSON Charlie (ENS) – 2:07.80 (2 points)
  8. HEINTZ Philip (NYB) – 2:08.61 (1 point)

Erik Persson picked up Iron’s first event win of the day with a 2:04.66 in the men’s 200 breast. Persson was the early leader, turning first at the 50 and 100 walls. NY Breakers’ Marco Koch pulled even with Persson at the halfway mark, having trailed the leader by .4 at the 50. Koch took over the lead at the 150, turning .16 ahead of Persson. Ilya Shymanovich of Energy Standard, in third place at the 150, outsplit the two leaders over the final 50 meters and nearly snatched the victory away from Persson. Shymanovich passed Koch and took second place with 2:04.78.

It was Persson’s first 200 breast win. Koch has won five times; Shymanovich, once.

Team Scores:

  1. London Roar – 69
  2. Energy Standard – 65
  3. NY Breakers – 45
  4. Iron – 43

Women’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay

  1. Energy Standard – 3:31.23 (30 points)
  2. London Roar – 3:33.75 (14 points)
  3. NY Breakers – 3:33.78 (12 points)
  4. Iron – 3:33.93 (10 points)
  5. Energy Standard – 3:36.73 (8 points)
  6. NY Breakers – 3:37.87 (-2 points) JP, TS
  7. Iron – 3:41.63 (-2 points) JP, TS
  8. London Roar – 3:42.25 (-2 points) JP, TS

Energy Standard loaded up on the A relay, a strategy that paid off handsomely as Siobhan Haughey (51.65), Madeline Banic (53.93), Fanny Teijonsalo (52.70), and Sarah Sjostrom (52.95) combined for 3:31.23 and jackpotted the 6th, 7th, and 8th place finishers.

London Roar, NY Breakers, and Iron all battled for second place, finishing within .18 of each other.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 103
  2. London Roar – 81
  3. NY Breakers – 55
  4. Iron – 51

Men’s 50m Freestyle

  1. PROUD Ben (ENS) – 20.86 (9 points)
  2. ORSI Marco (IRO) – 21.26 (7 points)
  3. de BOER Thom (IRO) – 21.32 (6 points)
  4. CARTER Dylan (LON) – 21.46 (5 points)
  5. SIMONS Kenzo (LON) – 21.49 (4 points)
  6. PIJNENBURG Stan (NYB) – 21.52 (3 points)
  7. MIGNON Clement (ENS) – 21.66 (2 points)
  8. KRASKA Jakub (NYB) – 21.67 (1 point)

Energy Standard’s Ben Proud won his second 50 free of the season, this time tying Caeleb Dressel’s winning time from match 2, 20.86. Proud dominated the race, finishing .40 ahead of the pair from Iron, Marco Orsi (21.26) and Thom de Boer (21.32). London picked up points at fourth and fifth with Dylan Carter (21.49) and teammate Kenzo Simons (21.49).

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 114
  2. London Roar – 90
  3. Iron – 64
  4. NY Breakers – 59

Women’s 50m Freestyle

  1. SJOSTROM Sarah (ENS) – 23.17 (24 points) ISL RECORD
  2. HAUGHEY Siobhan (ENS) – 23.80 (7 points)
  3. KROMOWIDJOJO Ranomi (IRO) – 24.04 (6 points)
  4. SURKOVA Arina (NYB) – 24.48 (0 points) JP
  5. WATTEL Marie (LON) – 24.50 (0 points) JP
  6. BUSCH Kim (LON) – 24.52 (0 points) JP
  7. COCCONCELLI Costanza (IRO) – 24.89 (0 points) JP
  8. FIEDKIEWICZ Kornelia (NYB) – 25.06 (0 point) JP

Sarah Sjostrom led a 1-2 sweep of the 50 free for Energy Standard. She broke the ISL record of 23.29, set by Iron’s Ranomi Kromowidjojo in 2019, by .12 with 23.17. Teammate Siobhan Haughey touched in second place with 23.80, .24 ahead of Kromowidjojo.

Those were the only three swimmers to score in the event, as Sjostrom’s time jackpotted the 4th through 8th place finishers. It was her tenth career win in the 50 free. Kromowidjojo has won it three times.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 145
  2. London Roar – 90
  3. Iron – 70
  4. NY Breakers – 59

Men’s 200m Individual Medley

  1. SCOTT Duncan (LON) – 1:52.63 (14 points)
  2. SANTOS Leonardo (IRO) – 1:53.55 (7 points)
  3. LANZA Vini (LON) – 1:53.96 (6 points)
  4. LITCHFIELD Joe (NYB) – 1:55.64 (5 points)
  5. REITSHAMMER Bernhard (IRO) – 1:56.08 (4 points)
  6. SMITH Brendon (NYB) – 1:56.84 (3 points)
  7. STUPIN Max (ENS) – 1:57.25 (0 points) JP
  8. SWANSON Charlie (ENS) – 1:58.17 (0 point) JP

London Roar made up 20 points on Energy Standard in the men’s 200 IM, with Duncan Scott (1:52.63) and Vini Lanza (1:53.96) going 1-3 and Scott jackpotting both ENS’s Max Stupin and Charlie Swanson.

Iron’s Leonardo Santos was out front after the fly and back but Scott took the lead after the breast. He and Lanza had the next-fastest breast splits (32.8 and 32.6, respectively) after Swanson (32.17) but it was the freestyle leg that put Duncan out of reach of runner-up Santos.

It was Scott’s third 200 IM win. Santos has won three times, as well. Lanza has one career victory in the event.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 145
  2. London Roar – 108
  3. Iron – 81
  4. NY Breakers – 67

Women’s 200m Individual Medley

  1. WOOD Abbie (NYB) – 2:05.98 (19 points)
  2. HARVEY Mary-Sophie (ENS) – 2:07.03 (7 points)
  3. UGOLKOVA Maria (IRO) – 2:08.22 (6 points)
  4. SHANAHAN Katie (LON) – 2:08.45 (5 points)
  5. GUNES Viktoriya (ENS) – 2:11.20 (0 points) JP
  6. ZAMORANO Africa (IRO) – 2:11.26 (0 points) JP
  7. STEENBERGEN Marrit (NYB) – 2:12.78 (0 points) JP
  8. PICKREM Sydney (LON) – DNS (-4 points)

Abbie Wood led from start to finish to pick up her second 200 IM win of the season for New York. She pulled the Breakers within one point of Iron in the team standings with her 19 points, including 10 jackpots from places 5th through 8th. 8th-place finisher Sydney Pickrem, who had swum in the women’s 4×100 free relay earlier in the session, was a DNS in lane 5. Her absence cost the London Roar 4 valuable team points as she was assessed a DNS penalty.

Wood was out nearly half a body length faster than Maria Ugolkova of Iron on the fly, with Mary-Sophie Harvey of Energy Standard in third place. Harvey moved into second on the backstroke leg, traded places again with Ugolkova on the breast, then clocked the fastest free anchor in the final to finish in second place with 2:07.03. Ugolkova held off London’s Katie Shanahan for third, 2:08.22 to 2:08.45.

It was Wood’s third ISL win in the event.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 152
  2. London Roar – 109
  3. Iron – 87
  4. NY Breakers – 86

Men’s 50m Breaststroke

  1. SHYMANOVICH Ilya (ENS) – 25.41 (24 points)
  2. SAKCI Emre (IRO) – 26.06 (7 points)
  3. LIMA Felipe (ENS) – 26.12 (6 points)
  4. WILLIAMSON Sam (LON) – 27.03 (0 points) JP
  5. MURDOCH Ross (LON) – 27.29 (0 points) JP
  6. PERSSON Erik (IRO) – 27.36 (0 points) JP
  7. KOCH Marco (NYB) – 27.72 (0 points) JP
  8. HEINTZ Philip (NYB) – 27.77 (0 points) JP

Energy Standard added a massive 30 points to the team total with a 1-3 punch from Ilya Shymanovich and Felipe Lima in the men’s 50 breast. Shymanovich clocked a 25.41, very close to his PB and within .12 of the ISL record and .16 of the World Record of 25.25 set by South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh in 2009. Shymanovich earned 15 jackpot points, stealing from the 4th through 8th place finishers.

Iron’s Emre Sakci was the only other scorer in the event with 26.06 for second place. Sakci has 5 ISL titles in this event. Shymanovich had won it 3 times prior to today, and Lima, once.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 182
  2. London Roar – 109
  3. Iron – 94
  4. NY Breakers – 86

Women’s 50m Breaststroke

  1. ATKINSON Alia (LON) – 29.73 (15 points)
  2. PILATO Benedetta (ENS) – 29.80 (7 points)
  3. HULKKO Ida (IRO) – 29.98 (6 points)
  4. CHIKUNOVA Evgenia (ENS) – 30.69 (5 points)
  5. STRAUCH Jenna (IRO) – 30.73 (4 points)
  6. LAUKKANEN Jenna (LON) – 31.42 (0 points) JP
  7. RENSHAW Molly (NYB) – 31.63 (-1 point) JP, TS
  8. SCHOUTEN Tess (NYB) – 32.38 (-1 point) JP, TS

World Record-holder Alia Atkinson won her sixth career 50 breast, giving London 15 valuable points in the team race. Atkinson touched out Energy Standard’s Benedetta Pilato 29.73 to 29.80. Pilato has won three 50 breast titles in the ISL.

Iron’s Ida Hulkko finished third, the only other swimmer to break 30 seconds. She has one ISL victory in this event.

Energy Standard’s Evgenia Chikunova got her hand to the wall .04 ahead of Iron’s Jenna Strauch and added 5 more points to the 7 scored by Pilato.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 194
  2. London Roar – 124
  3. Iron – 104
  4. NY Breakers – 84

Men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay

  1. NY Breakers – 3:07.02 (30 points)
  2. London Roar – 3:07.62 (14 points)
  3. Energy Standard – 3:07.63 (12 points)
  4. Energy Standard – 3:10.69 (10 points)
  5. Iron – 3:11.74 (8 points)
  6. Iron – 3:12.11 (0 points) JP
  7. London Roar – 3:13.24 (0 points) JP
  8. NY Breakers – 3:20.66 (-2 points) JP, TS

New York came from behind to earn a big win in the men’s 400 free relay with a time that jackpotted places 6 through 8. Jacob Whittle (47.35) was the third-fastest leadoff. He handed off to Stan Pijnenburg (46.84) who moved to second place, passing London Roar’s Zac Incerti and pulling within .9 of Energy Standard, who had led from the outset. Jakub Kraska moved to the front of the pack with (46.46). London also passed Energy Standard on the third leg. Matt Temple took it home for the Breakers with a 46.37 anchor, the fastest in the field by .3.

London Roar finished .01 ahead of Energy Standard for second place, but ENS swept 3-4 to earn 22 points, 8 more than London whose second relay was jackpotted.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 216
  2. London Roar – 138
  3. Iron – 112
  4. NY Breakers – 112

Women’s 50m Backstroke

  1. TOUSSAINT Kira (LON) – 26.28 (9 points)
  2. TCHORZ Alicja (NYB) – 26.63 (7 points)
  3. ATHERTON Minna (LON) – 26.76 (6 points)
  4. LOYNING Ingeborg (IRO) – 26.79 (5 points)
  5. DAVIES Georgia (ENS) – 26.93 (4 points)
  6. SCALIA Silvia (IRO)/PEDA Paulina (NYB) – 27.00 (2.5 points)
  7. –
  8. KUBOVA Simona (ENS) – 27.01 (1 point)

Kira Toussaint and Minna Atherton went 1-2 for London, touching in 26.28 and 26.76, respectively. Before today, each had won this event three times.

Coming in second place was NY Breakers’ Alicja Tchorz with 26.63. Iron’s Ingebord Loyning nearly tied Atherton, coming to the wall .03 back with 26.79.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 221
  2. London Roar – 153
  3. NY Breakers – 121.5
  4. Iron – 119.5

Men’s 50m Backstroke

  1. GUIDO Guilherme (LON) – 22.60 (15 points)
  2. KOLESNIKOV Kliment (ENS) – 23.11 (7 points)
  3. GLINTA Robert (IRO) – 23.34 (6 points)
  4. DIENER Christian (LON) – 23.38 (5 points)
  5. MORA Lorenzo (IRO) – 23.50 (4 points)
  6. LITCHFIELD Joe (NYB) – 23.64 (0 points) JP
  7. BRAUNSCHEIG Ole (NYB) – 24.20 (0 points) JP
  8. MAHONEY Travis (ENS) – 24.32 (0 points) JP

London’s Guilherme Guido set the pool on fire with a 22.60 win in the men’s 50 back for his sixth career ISL win. That is .01 faster than Coleman Stewart’s winning time of 22.61 from match 2, which netted Cali Condors 19 points. Guido earned 15 points for his effort after jackpotting places 6 through 8. His teammate Christian Diener added another 5 points with his fourth-place finish.

Energy Standard’s Kliment Kolesnikov, who had earlier placed fourth in the 200 back, was runner-up with 23.11. Iron scored 10 team points with Robert Glinta (23.34) and Lorenzo Mora (23.50), who placed third and fifth.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 228
  2. London Roar – 173
  3. Iron – 129.5
  4. NY Breakers – 121.5

Women’s 400m Freestyle

Ranked by Final Times

  1. HAUGHEY Siobhan (ENS) – 4:02.59 (16 points)
  2. SEEMANOVA Barbora (IRO) – 4:03.22 (16 points)
  3. ROSENDAHL BACH Helena (ENS) – 4:05.97 (9 points)
  4. LAHTINEN Laura (LON) – 4:08.85 (5 points)
  5. SHANAHAN Katie (LON) – 4:09.94 (4 points)
  6. ANDRUSENKO Veronika (IRO) – 4:10.12 (2 points)
  7. ZEVINA Daryna (NYB) – 4:16.32 (-1 point)
  8. HOPE Lucy (NYB) – 4:19.91 (-1 point)

Ranked by Points Scored

  1. HAUGHEY Siobhan (ENS) – 4:02.59 / SEEMANOVA Barbora (IRO) – 4:03.22 (16 points)
  2. –
  3. ROSENDAHL BACH Helena (ENS) – 4:05.97 (9 points)
  4. LAHTINEN Laura (LON) – 4:08.85 (5 points)
  5. SHANAHAN Katie (LON) – 4:09.94 (4 points)
  6. ANDRUSENKO Veronika (IRO) – 4:10.12 (2 points)
  7. ZEVINA Daryna (NYB) – 4:16.32 (-1 point)
  8. HOPE Lucy (NYB) – 4:19.91 (-1 point)

Siobhan Haughey picked up her third 400 free win for Energy Standard, swimming the race her way. Not to be flustered by the 100-meter checkpoint, she hung just behind the early leader, Barbora Seemanova of Iron, before edging out front at the 150 turn. From there she maintained a narrow but steady lead over Seemanova through the 300. Haughey picked up the pace over the final 100 meters and won by half a body length, 4:04.59 to 4:03.22.

The new scoring rules for 2021 award 6-4-3-2-1 for top five leaders at the 100 meters, and then the regular 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for the eight places at the finish. There are also jackpot opportunities, so both Haughey and Seemanova scored 16 points for their swims.

Energy Standard also scored at third place with Helena Rosendahl Bach’s 4:05.97. She was in third place, just behind the two leaders, from start to finish. The rest of the field was at least a body length behind.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 253
  2. London Roar – 182
  3. Iron – 147.5
  4. NY Breakers – 119.5

Men’s 400m Freestyle

Ranked by Final Times

  1. SMITH Brendon (NYB) – 3:40.41 (15 points)
  2. MELO Luiz Altamir (IRO) – 3:45.52 (11 points)
  3. ZIRK Kregor (ENS) – 3:45.56 (13 points)
  4. de TULLIO Marco (ENS) – 3:46.23 (7 points)
  5. ALMEIDA Brandonn (NYB) – 3:46.63 (4 points)
  6. INCERTI Zac (LON) – 3:48.23 (3 points)
  7. MILDRED Edward (LON) – 3:52.35 (-1 point) JP, TS
  8. RICHARDS Matt (IRO) – 3:56.08 (-1 point) JP, TS

Ranked by Points Scored

  1. SMITH Brendon (NYB) – 3:40.41 (15 points)
  2. ZIRK Kregor (ENS) – 3:45.56 (13 points)
  3. MELO Luiz Altamir (IRO) – 3:45.52 (11 points)
  4. de TULLIO Marco (ENS) – 3:46.23 (7 points)
  5. ALMEIDA Brandonn (NYB) – 3:46.63 (4 points)
  6. INCERTI Zac (LON) – 3:48.23 (3 points)
  7. MILDRED Edward (LON) – 3:52.35 (-1 point) JP, TS
  8. RICHARDS Matt (IRO) – 3:56.08 (-1 point) JP, TS

In the men’s 400 free, Matt Richards of Iron took it out very quickly, building up a half-body length lead over Kregor Zirk of Energy Standard at the 100. Richards picked up 6 points as the leader at the checkpoint, but he proceeded to lose them over the next 300 meters. He had already faded to third place at the 150 and was seventh at the 200. He ended up in 8th place and was jackpotted by the eventual winner, Brendon Smith of NY Breakers, losing not only his 6 original points, but also the point for finishing 8th. In addition, he missed the time standard and finished the race with -1 point.

Smith swam a much more conservative race. He had easy speed up front, coming in fourth at the 100-meter checkpoint. He made his move on the third 50 and took over the lead at the halfway point. From there, he continued to build his lead and wound up more than 5 seconds ahead of runner-up Zirk, stopping the clock at 3:40.41. That is his second ISL win in the 400 free.

Zirk and Iron’s Luiz Altamir Melo (3:45.52) traded places at second and third place throughout the race. With 50 meters to go, Melo had dropped to fifth place behind Smith, Zirk and New York’s Brandonn Almeida. But a big kick at the end landed him in second place, .04 ahead of Zirk.

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 273
  2. London Roar – 184
  3. Iron – 157.5
  4. NY Breakers – 138.5

Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay

  1. Energy Standard – 3:48.43 (30 points)
  2. Energy Standard – 3:52.47 (14 points)
  3. Iron – 3:52.94 (12 points)
  4. NY Breakers – 3:53.58 (10 points)
  5. London Roar – 3:53.62 (8 points)
  6. Iron –3:55.93 (0 points) JP
  7. NY Breakers – 4:00.30 (-2 points) JP, TS
  8. London Roar – 4:00.55 (-2 points) JP, TS

Energy Standard’s incredible depth was on display in the women’s 4×100 medley, as their relays swept the top two spots. As they did in the women’s free relay, the ENS coaches loaded up the A relay to bolster their chances for a win. Mary-Sophie Harvey (57.04 back), Evgenia Chikunova (1:04.27 breast), Anastasiya Shkurdai (56.08 fly), and Sarah Sjostrom (51.04 free) had the fastest splits in each stroke and combined for 3:48.43 to beat the ENS “B” relay by over 4 seconds.

With the new rules this year, that means that first NY Breakers, then Iron, will get to choose which stroke to eliminate for the skins race tomorrow. Of the two remaining strokes, Energy Standard will get to pick which one they prefer to race.

We understand that Iron took away backstroke, New York removed breaststroke, and Energy chose freestyle (the outcome Sarah Sjostrom had wanted all along).

Team Scores:

  1. Energy Standard – 317
  2. London Roar – 190
  3. Iron – 169.5
  4. NY Breakers – 146.5

Men’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay

  1. Energy Standard – 3:24.05 (18 points)
  2. London Roar – 3:24.63 (14 points)
  3. NY Breakers – 3:25.62 (12 points)
  4. London Roar – 3:26.76 (10points)
  5. Iron – 3:27.29 (8 points)
  6. Energy Standard – 3:27.31 (6 points)
  7. Iron – 3:27.76 (4 points)
  8. NY Breakers – 3:28.88 (2 points)

It was a more even race in the men’s relay, with all eight teams scoring. Guilherme Guido put London in the lead on the backstroke leg, going 49.69 for the only sub-50 leadoff. Energy Standard’s Ilya Shymanovich took over from Kliment Kolesnikov (50.24 back) to go 56.23 on the breast and take over the lead. Roar’s Ross Murdoch split 58.94 on the breast. Iron’s Emre Sakci (57.58) passed London and was in second place behind Energy Standard heading into the butterfly. Chad le Clos (49.60) kept Energy Standard out front, while Vini Lanza (50.17) moved London back into second place. Clement Mignon (47.98) held off Duncan Scott’s incredible anchor of 45.83 to give Energy Standard the win over London Roar.

In the selection for tomorrow’s skins race, third-place New York removed breaststroke, second-place London eliminated freestyle, and the winning team, Energy, chose butterfly.

Team Scores – Day 1

  1. Energy Standard – 341
  2. London Roar – 214
  3. Iron – 181.5
  4. NY Breakers – 160.5

 

 

 

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StuartC
3 years ago

So much for the increased parity across the teams! Not!!

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Yup
3 years ago

Summing up, the NY Breakers still stink…..

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Dee
3 years ago

Brilliant to see Adam Barrett back in the pool, and 47.3 is a pretty legit 100fr on the comeback trail. He was Euro & Commonwealth champ on the medley relay back in 2014, swimming the ‘fly leg. I think he’s targeting a spot on England’s commonwealth games team, 4×1 most likely but the event suddenly looks very competitive. Good luck to him.

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commonwombat
3 years ago

Could well imagine the following text being sent by one R.Woodhouse to certain swimmers during that session

“You’d better be on that xxxxxxx flight !!”

As I expected, London in such an undermanned/womanned state is barely an upgrade on Iron. Whilst the inclusion of McKeon & Chalmers will not be a one-size fits all fix; it will at minimum upgrade their relays as well as certain individual event …..probably raising them to around Toronto level.

Of their existing “prime assets:

  • Atkinson & Lazor will be very solid at minimum with win potential for certain matches
  • Ditto for mens backstroke trio
  • Scott, and utilisation thereof, is pivotal for the mens team. Chalmers arrival should lighten load on FS
  • Pickrem has
… Read more »

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Braden Keith
Admin
Reply to  commonwombat
3 years ago

And…none of it matters, they’re still going to make the playoff, and then everyone will come back.

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Marcy Spann
3 years ago

did anybody else noticed that sydney pickrem actually went up to the blocks for the 200 IM & went “nope” & stepped down………definitely something i wish i could’ve done lolololol (especially whenever I did the 400 IM or 1650 FR lmao)

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Yoo
Reply to  Marcy Spann
3 years ago

Didn’t she do that at the olympics too?

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NJones
Reply to  Yoo
3 years ago

No. At the Olympics she did scratch 2 events prior to the race in order to a) better prepare for her best event and b) make herself available for 🇨🇦 relay duty. A number of international swimmers scratched their secondary events in the days leading up for various reasons, so despite some negative online speculation, she did nothing wrong and in fact ‘took one for the (relay) team’ , if you will.

No idea what happened today so I watched again as I missed her step down this morning. You can rewatch on ISL platform.
Was very abrupt like “oh snap need bathroom now”…

Last edited 3 years ago by NJones
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leisurely1:29
Reply to  Marcy Spann
3 years ago

Does anyone have a video of this? I almost died laughing watching live.

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Troyy
3 years ago

What were the final day 1 scores? They’re missing from the article.

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Sub13
3 years ago

So Roar really needed Emma today. Arguably she wins the 50 free (although that certainly isn’t guaranteed) and 100 fly, and bumps up the women’s relays, potentially giving London an extra 40-60 points, most of them stolen from ENS. It would basically be a close match in that case.

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CY~
Reply to  Sub13
3 years ago

London vs Energy for the remaining 2 of Energy’s matches. We’ll get a chance to see that! Weird matchup

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Troyy
Reply to  CY~
3 years ago

Roar’s schedule is terrible. Only team that meets Energy or Condors in every match.

Last edited 3 years ago by Troyy
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Apathetic
Reply to  Sub13
3 years ago

Emma winning the 50 free would take bettering the Aussie record and beating Sarah who just went the 5th fastest time in history, so I’m not so sure about that!

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CY~
Reply to  Apathetic
3 years ago

Emma’s been doing PBs all summer and beat Sarah thrice in the summer, so I’m not sure about that!

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Troyy
Reply to  CY~
3 years ago

For the most part Emma hasn’t been in the water since Tokyo.

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Honest Observer
3 years ago

Sorta fun to see the short course swimmers come back. Atherton, le Clos, Guido, Stewart (last week), etc. Hope to see Shields come back strong and strut his stuff. Some of the Olympic medalists, understandably enough, seem a little flat.

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Bud
Reply to  Honest Observer
3 years ago

I mean you can call Le Clos an SC swimmer and be kind of right, but he is an Olympic champion and multiple silver medalist so IDK.

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About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

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