2021 ISL Playoffs: Match 3 Live Recap

2021 ISL Playoff Match 3

  • Thursday, November 18th – Friday, November 19th
  • 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm local time; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST
  • Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwemstadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands
  • Short Course Meters (25m – SCM) Format
  • ISL Season 3 Schedules, Start Times, & More
  • Results
  • Teams Competing: Energy Standard, Toronto Titans, Aqua Centurions, DC Trident

The second weekend of the 2021 ISL playoffs kick off this evening in Eindhoven, with Energy Standard, the Toronto Titans, Aqua Centurions and DC Trident all suiting up. After dropping the first playoff match to the defending champion Cali Condors, the 2019 champs Energy Standard stand to be the heavy favorites in their second playoff match this season. Energy Standard is led by World Record holders Sarah Sjostrom and Ilya Shymanovich, who will both race today, but are still without sprinting ace Florent Manadou.

The main storyline for this match should be the race for second, as Toronto, DC and the Aqua Centurions all finished outside the top 2 in their first playoff match. Another bottom 2 here would all but eliminate those teams from playoff contention. The top four teams after the six playoff matches will advance to the ISL Championship match December 3-4 in Eindhoven.

Women’s 100 fly

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Louise Hansson (TOR): 55.91
  2. Sarah Sjostrom (ENS): 55.99
  3. Madeline Banic (ENS): 56.96
  4. Elena di Liddo (AQC): 57.07
  5. Silvia di Pietro (AQC): 57.19
  6. Linnea Mack (DCT): 57.21
  7. Laura Stephens (TOR): 57.80
  8. Klaudia Nazieblo (DCT): 57.98

Playoff Match 3 starts with an upset in the women’s 100 fly, with Toronto’s Louise Hansson outtouching her countrymate and uccrent World Record holder Sarah Sjostrom 55.91 to 55.99. Hansson led wire to wire, turning two tenths ahead of Sjostrom at the 50 and held off a late surge to take the win.

Energy Standard’s depth was on display early though, as Madeline Banic touched in 3rd behind Sjostrom to help mitigate the point damage by the upset loss. AQC posted a 4-5 finish to give them an early edge over DCT.

Men’s 100 fly

Top 8 finishers:

  1.  Matteo Rivolta (AQC): 49.05
  2. Camden Murphy (DCT): 49.88
  3. Zach Harting (DCT): 50.45
  4. Adam Barrett (ENS): 50.76
  5. Grigori Pekarski (TOR): 51.00
  6. Marius Kusch (TOR): 51.05
  7. Thomas Ceccon (AQC): 51.20
  8. James Guy (ENS): 51.58

Aqua Centurions’ Matteo Rivolta blasted out to the lead in the first 50 to dominate the men’s 100 fly in 49.05, while breaking the Italian record in the process. Rivolta also jackpotted the 6th-8th place points to give AQC the early team lead after two events.

The DC Trident made up for a disappointing finish in the women’s 100 fly with a strong 2-3 finish by Americans Camden Murphy and Zach Harting. Murphy touched in 2nd in 49.88 and Harting touched in 3rd with a 50.45.

After missing last week’s match due to a knee injury, Energy Standard’s Chad le Clos is still nowhere to be found in the 100 fly, exposing a massive hole in ENS’ lineup.

Team scores after men’s 100 fly:

  1. AQC: 24
  2. ENS: 18
  3. DCT: 17
  4. TOR: 15

Women’s 200 back

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Kylie Masse (TOR): 2:01.52
  2. Anastasiya Shkurdai (ENS): 2:02.43
  3. Lisa Bratton (TOR): 2:02.78
  4. Mary-Sophie Harvey (ENS): 2:04.03
  5. Federica Pellegrini (AQC): 2:06.01
  6. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (DCT): 2:07.39
  7. Ali Deloof (DCT): 2:08.40
  8. Alessia Polieri (AQC): 2:12.86

Toronto is now two for two in women’s events for the day, as Kylie Masse touched first in the 200 back in 2:01.52. Masse turned first at the 50 mark by over a half second and widened her lead over the next 100 to take the win. Masse also jackpots the 6th-8th place points.

Titan teammate Lisa Bratton touched in third in 2:02.78 secure big points for Toronto. Energy Standard was led by Anastasia Shkurdai’s second place finish in 2:02.43, while her teammate Mary-Sophie Harvey touched fourth in 2:04.03.

Men’s 200 back

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Evgeny Rylov (ENS): 1:51.47
  2. Leonardo de Deus (AQC): 1:52.99
  3. Jay Litherland (DCT): 1:53.50
  4. Cole Pratt (TOR): 1:53.67
  5. Max Litchfield (TOR): 1:53.73
  6. Simone Sabbioni (AQC): 1:54.35
  7. Travis Mahoney (ENS): 1:54.51
  8. Mark Nikolaev (DCT): 1:54.94

Energy Standard’s first win of the day comes courtesy of Evgeny Rylov, who touched in 1:51.47 to win the men’s 200 back. Rylov used a blistering 56.5 back half to separate himself from second place finisher Leonardo de Deus. De Deus touched in second for AQC in 1:52.99.

DC Trident’s Jay Litherland, best known as a world class IMer, displayed some stroke versatility with a 3rd place finish of 1:53.50. Toronto had a 4-5 finish courtesy of Cole Pratt and Max Litchfield.

Women’s 200 breast

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Maria Temnikova (DCT): 2:19.38
  2. Tess Cieplucha (TOR): 2:21.32
  3. Jessica Vall (ENS): 2:21.50
  4. Viktoriya Gunes (ENS): 2:21.57
  5. Martina Carraro (AQC): 2:21.75
  6. Kelsey Wog (TOR): 2:21.85
  7. Rachel Nicol (DCT): 2:23.94
  8. Rika Omoto (AQC): 2:26.26

DC Trident’s Maria Temnikova ran away with the 200 breast, leading wire to wire to win in 2:19.38. The race behind were was extremely tight, however, with 2nd through 6th place all finishing within a half second of one another.

Taking the second spot was Toronto’s Tess Cieplucha, who used a fast final 50 to pass several swimmers to touch in 2:21.32. Energy Standard takes a 3-4 finish courtesy of Jessica Vall and Viktoriya Gunes, who touched in 2:21.50 and 2:21.57 respectively.

Men’s 200 breast

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Ilya Shymanovich (ENS): 2:02.06
  2. Arno Kamminga (AQC): 2:02.32
  3. Anton Mckee (TOR): 2:04.55
  4. Fabian Schwingenschlogl (TOR): 2:04.56
  5. Cody Miller (DCT): 2:05.06
  6. Tommy Cope (DCT): 2:05.11
  7. Nicolo Martinenghi (AQC): 2:05.58
  8. Charlie Swanson (ENS): 2:06.60

Energy Standard’s Ilya Shymanovich took the men’s 200 breast in 2:02.06, narrowly touching ahead of AQC’s Arno Kamminga, who finished in second in 2:02.32. Shymanovich, who is the World Record holder in the 50 and 100 breast, was out to the early lead, though Kamminga nearly ran him down on the final 50 after splitting a 30.98 on the end.

Toronto continues to impress early in the meet, with Anton McKee touching in 3rd in 2:04.55 and Fabian Schwingenschlogl touching in fourth in 2:04.56.

Team scores after men’s 200 breast:

  1. TOR: 66
  2. ENS: 62
  3. AQC: 51
  4. DCT: 43

Women’s 4×100 free relay

Top 8 finishers:

  1. ENS A: 3:28.55
  2. TOR A: 3:28.85
  3. AQC A: 3:31.08
  4. DCT A: 3:31.27
  5. TOR B: 3:34.66
  6. ENS B: 3:37.74
  7. DCT: 3:38.88
  8. AQC: 3:39.87

Energy Standard finally picks up the huge win they’ve been looking for, topping the women’s 400 free relay in 3:28.55 ENS was led by Siobhan Haughey’s 51.37 leadoff, the fastest in the field by almost a full second. They also jackpotted the 5th-8th place finishers to post a massive 38 points for the event.

Toronto made it close, however, as the Titans finished second in 3:28.85. They were led by a 51.98 split by Michelle Coleman on the second leg, which entirely erased ENS’ early lead and a a 51.56anchor from Kayla Sanchez, who actually outsplit ENS’ Sarah Sjostrom on the end.

Men’s 50 free

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Ben Proud (ENS): 20.64
  2. Lorenzo Zazzeri (TOR): 20.87
  3. Ryan Hoffer (DCT): 21.26
  4. Alessandro Miressi (AQC): 21.34
  5. Vladislav Grinev (AQC): 21.36
  6. Yuri Kisil (TOR): 21.46
  7. Aleksandr Schegolev (DCT): 21.51
  8. Clement Mignon (ENS): 21.74

Energy Standard’s Ben Proud swam to a new British Record in the men’s 50 free, stopping the clock in 20.64 to take the win. Proud’s swim also jackpotted the 7th and 8th place points.

Toronto’s Lorenzo Zazzeri was close behind, touching in second in 20.87 to continue what has been a strong start for the Titans. Former NCAA star Ryan Hoffer finished in third for DCT in 21.26.

Women’s 50 free

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Sarah Sjostrom (ENS): 23.08 (LR)
  2. Kasia Wasick (TOR): 23.38
  3. Mariia Kameneva (AQC): 23.85
  4. Michelle Coleman (TOR): 24.12
  5. Isabella Hindley (DCT): 24.29
  6. Femke Heemskerk (ENS): 24.31
  7. Anna Hopkin (DCT): 24.56
  8. Silvia di Pietro (AQC): 24.63

After an underwhelming start to the day, Energy Standard now appears to firing on all cylinders in the middle part of the session. After being upset in the 100 fly, Sarah Sjostrom came back with a statement win in the 50 free in a new League Record of 23.08, breaking her own mark of 23.17 set earlier this season in Napoli. That swim is only .15 off of Ranomi Kromowidjojo’s 2017 World Record of 22.93. Sjostrom also jackpotted the 4th-8th place swimmers to earn 24 points for Energy Standard,

Touching in second was Toronto’s Kasia Wasick in 23.38, while AQC’s Mariia Kameneva touched in third in 23.85.

Men’s 200 IM

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Alberto Razzetti (TOR): 1:52.10
  2. Chase Kalisz (AQC): 1:53.95
  3. Max Litchfield (TOR): 1:54.76
  4. Illia Borodin (AQC): 1:55.65
  5. Mohamed Samy (DCT): 1:55.91
  6. Jay Litherland (DCT): 1:56.07
  7. Charlie Swanson (ENS): 1:57.75
  8. Travis Mahoney (ENS): 1:58.97

Toronto’s Alberto Razzetti dominated the men’s 200 IM, leading wire to wire to touch first in 1:52.10. He opened with a 24.17 fly split, which put him almost 8 tenths clear of the field at the 50, and never looked back. Razzetti jackpotted the 7th and 8th place points, both from Energy Standard.

Touching in second for the Aqua Centurions was American Chase Kalisz, who touched in 1;53.95. Touching in third was Toronto’s Max Litchfield, wrapping up a very solid event for the Titans. With the 1-3 finish Toronto takes home 18 points from the event.

Team standings after men’s 200 IM:

  1. ENS: 136
  2. TOR: 115
  3. AQC: 90
  4. DCT: 66

Women’s 200 IM

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Mary-Sophie Harvey (ENS): 2:05.67
  2. Bailey Andison (DCT): 2:06.43
  3. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (DCT): 2:07.77
  4. Viktoriya Gunes (ENS): 2:07.82
  5. Kayla Sanchez (TOR): 2:08.21
  6. Rika Omoto (AQC): 2:08.53
  7. Tessa Cieplucha (TOR): 2:08.54
  8. Alessia Polieri (AQC): 2:17.42

Energy Standard got back to their winning ways in the women’s 200 IM, with Mary-Sophie Harvey touching in first in 2:05.67. Harvey led by a full second at the 100, which proved to be an insurmountable lead for runner-up Bailey Andison.

The DC Trident earned a 2-3 finish courtesy of Bailey Andison’s 2:06.43 and Zsuzsanna Jakabos’ 2:07.77 as the Trident try to keep the team race competitive with AQC and TOR.

AQC’s Alessia Polieri was well off the pace in 2:17.42 in 8th, earning her a -1.

Men’s 50 breast

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Nicolo Martinenghi (AQC): 25.73
  2. Ilya Shymanovich (ENS): 25.74
  3. Fabio Scozzoli (AQC): 25.76
  4. Felipe Lima (ENS): 25.95
  5. Fabian Schwingenschlogl (TOR): 26.23
  6. Tobias Bjerg (TOR): 26.72
  7. Tommy Cope (DCT): 26.85
  8. Felipe Franca Silva (DCT): 26.87

The men’s 50 breast came down to the touch, with the top three swimmers all touching within .03 of each other. AQC’s Nicolo Martinenghi got his hand on the wall first, touching in 25.73 to upset World Record holder Ilya Shymanovich and jackpot the 7th and 8th place points. Martinenghi’s AQC teammate Fabio Scozzoli touched in third in 25.76.

After narrowly winning the 200 breast earlier today, Energy Standard’s Shymanovich will have to settle for a close second after touching just .01 behind Martinenghi in 25.74.

Women’s 50 breast

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Arianna Castiglioni (AQC): 29.78
  2. Martina Carraro (AQC): 30.05
  3. Siobhan Haughey (ENS): 30.06
  4. Tatiana Belonogoff (DCT): 30.55
  5. Dominika Sztandera (TOR): 30.59
  6. Rachel Nicol (DCT): 30.84
  7. Jessica Vall (ENS): 30.98
  8. Kelsey Wog (TOR): 31.88

The Aqua Centurions make it a clean sweep of the sprint breaststrokes, with Arianna Castiglioni touching in first in 29.78. Castiglioni jackpotted the 7th and 8th place points. Coming in behind her was teammate Martina Carraro, touching just ahead of Energy Standard’s Siobhan Haughey 30.05 to 30.06.

The DC Trident picked up a fourth place finish from Tatiana Belonogoff, who finished in 30.55.

Men’s 4×100 free relay

Top 8 finishers:

  1. AQC A: 3:06.67
  2. ENS A: 3:07.56
  3. DCT A: 3:08.83
  4. TOR A: 3:09.83
  5. DCT B: 3:12.16
  6. ENS B: 3:14.24
  7. TOR B: 3:49.35
  8. —-DQ—-AQC B

In an upset win, the Aqua Centurions won the men’s 4×100 free relay in 3:06.67. AQC was led by a trio of 46 splits, including Alessandro Miressi’s 46.08 leadoff, which was the fastest in the field. They also jackpotted the 5th-8th place points to make up significant ground in the team standings with 38 points.

Energy Standard had to to settle for second despite a massive 45.67 second leg from Russian Kliment Kolesnikov.

It appears that Toronto essentially punted on their B relay, with their team getting lapped by the entire field. Fabian Schwingenshlogl had the slowest split on the relay with a 1:01.17.

Team scores after men’s 4×100 free relay:

  1. ENS: 183
  2. AQC: 168
  3. TOR: 142
  4. DCT 99

Women’s 50 back

Top finishers:

  1. Kylie Masse (TOR): 26.04
  2. Louise Hansson (TOR): 26.31
  3. Linnea Mack (DCT): 26.39
  4. Holly Barratt (AQC): 26.43
  5. Ali Deloof (DCT): 26.55
  6. Simona Kubova (ENS): 26.56
  7. Georgia Davies (ENS): 26.70
  8. Elena di Liddo (AQC): 26.72

After being passed by AQC in the team standings after the relays, Toronto struck back quickly with a 1-2 finish in the women’s 50 back. Kylie Masse took the win in 26.04, and was followed closely by teammate Louise Hansson in 26.31.

DC picked up a third place finish from Linnea M ack’s 26.39. Energy Standard’s lead in the team race continues to shrink after their dominant performance in the middle of the session.

Men’s 50 back

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Mark Nikolaev (DCT): 22.67
  2. Kliment Kolesnikov (ENS): 23.19
  3. Evgeny Rylov (ENS): 23.31
  4. Shane Ryan (TOR): 23.55
  5. Leonardo de Deus (AQC): 24.02
  6. Mohamed Samy (DCT): 24.11
  7. Simone Sabbioni (AQC): 24.12
  8. Grigori Pekarski (TOR): 24.16

In another upset win, DC Trident’s Mark Nikolaev crushed the field in the men’s 50 back, winning by over a half second in 22.67. That swim was fast enough to jackpot the 5th-8th place finishers and add 19 points to the Trident total.

Coming in 2nd was Energy Standard’s Kliment Kolesnikov, whose 23.19 is well off of his lifetime best of 22.47 done at the SC Euro’s just a few weeks ago. His teammate Evgeny Rylov touched in 3rd in 23.31.

Women’s 400 free

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Siobhan Haughey (ENS): 3:57.06
  2. Summer McIntosh (TOR): 3:57.75
  3. Joanna Evans (DCT): 4:00.15
  4. Helena Rosendahl bach (ENS): 4:04.61
  5. Julia Hassler (TOR): 4:04.93
  6. Leah Neale (DCT): 4:06.13
  7. Holly Hibbott (AQC): 4:07.00
  8. Laura Taylor (AQC): 4:16.34

In a tight battle between veteran and newcomer, Energy Standard’s Siobhan Haughey topped Toronto’s Summer McIntosh 3:57.06 to 3:57.75. It was a back and forth race the whole way, with McIntosh holding the lead at the halfway point and the two swimmers flipping almost even at the 250, 300 and 350 turn before Haughey blasted a 29.03 on the final 50 to seal the win.

Despite the 6th place finish, DCT’s Leah Neale will take home 10 points after leading at the 100 mark.

Men’s 400 free

Top 8 finishers:

  1. Luc Kroon (TOR): 3:39.53
  2. Max Litchfield (TOR): 3:40.40
  3. Kregor Zirk (ENS): 3:40.95
  4. Zane Grothe (DCT): 3:42.12
  5. Matteo Ciampi (AQC): 3:43.22
  6. Illia Borodin (AQC): 3:46.12
  7. Velimir Stjepanovic (DCT): 3:46.32
  8. James Guy (ENS): 3:50.23

Toronto secured a 1-2 finish in the men’s 400 free, courtesy of Luc Kroon’s 3:39.53 first place finish and Max Litchfield’s 3:40.40 second place showing. Both swimmers trailed Energy Standard’s Kregor Zirk at the halfway point but charged home over the final 100 to secure the 1-2 Titan finish.

Despite his third place finish, Kregor Zirk will take home 18 points in the 400 as he flipped in first at both the 100 and 200 mark of the race. That helps make up for James Guy, Zirk’s ENS teammate in the race, 8th place jackpotted finish.

Team scores after men’s 400 free

  1. ENS: 238
  2. TOR: 190
  3. AQC: 172
  4. DCT: 156

Women’s 4×100 medley relay

Top 8 finishers:

  1. TOR A: 3:49.09
  2. ENS A: 3:50.06
  3. DCT A: 3:50.94
  4. AQC A: 3:51.35
  5. ENS B: 3:53.11
  6. AQC B: 3:53.11
  7. TOR B: 3:56.01
  8. DCT B: 3:56.76

In the final women’s event of the day it was the Toronto Titans, not the favored Energy Standard, coming out on top. Toronto was led by Kylie Masse’s 56.16 leadoff backstroke split, the fastest in the field, as well as 100 fly champ Louise Hansson, who split 55.58 on the third leg. Veteran Kasia Wasick closed in 51.32 t0 seal the win.

Energy Standard will have to settle for second in just under a second back in 3:50.06. ENS was consistently outsplit by Toronto on every leg excluding the freestyle, where Sarah Sjostrom posted a field-leading 51.13 anchor. The gap was too large, however, for the Swede to overcome.

Men’s 4×100 medley relay

Top 8 finishers:

  1. ENS A: 3:22.25
  2. AQC A: 3:22.32
  3. DCT A: 3:24.27
  4. AQC B: 3:26.51
  5. TOR A: 3:26.61
  6. DCT B: 3:28.01
  7. ENS B: 3:29.37
  8. TOR B: 3:32.99

Energy Standard claimed the top spot in come from behind fashion in the final men’s event of the day, touching the wall in 3:22.25. ENS anchor Kliment Kolesnikov dove in nearly three tenths behind AQC’s A, but was able to make up the difference with a 45.95 split.

Nearly pulling off the upset win was the Aqua Centurions’ A team, which was led by Arno Kamminga’s 55.63 breast split and Matteo Rivolta’s 49.87 fly split.

The DC Trident finished 3rd in 3:24.27, largely thanks to Mark Nikolaev’s 49.96 leadoff leg, the only sub 50 backstroke split in the field.

Team scores after day 1:

  1. ENS: 284
  2. TOR: 222
  3. AQC: 212
  4. DCT: 186

In This Story

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matt
2 years ago

fabian rlly went 1:01 in 100 free 😐. i can do that

Zdhamme86
Reply to  matt
2 years ago

Right, can I be drafted just for B relays?

Matthew
2 years ago

What’s the skins options

Uncle
Reply to  Matthew
2 years ago

Freestyle for both

Spectatorn
2 years ago

what happened to AQC’s men 4×100 Free B team? Result showed DSQ but there is no -ve RT (0.21, 0.43, 0.55). Only Scozzoli not have a time…

pass 15m?

Last edited 2 years ago by Spectatorn
Sub13
2 years ago

So many upsets and surprises so far in the playoffs. Honestly seems like anything could happen at this point.

On a side note, Pickrem was asked directly on the Roar podcast whether Peaty would be in Eindhoven and acted all coy saying people would need to wait and see. I couldn’t tell if she was deflecting because she knows he won’t be coming, or she was doing the whole “we know he’s coming but we want it to be a surprise for the fans” thing. His presence could be a game changer in playoffs and the final.

commonwombat
Reply to  Sub13
2 years ago

There IS the possibility that Peaty could turn out trumps for LON but the cold reality is that it’s highly unlikely. Even if he does front for the final …… and it’s by no means certain LON makes it:

  • even fully fit, he’s significantly less the “monster” SC than he is LC
  • he’s been out of the water for an extended period and his condition would be, at best, well below optimal

Granted that even then, he would be a significant upgrade on LON’s current male breaststroke stocks but a long way from the pivotal factor he would normally be.

The whole “will he/won’t he” is, quite frankly, serving no positive purpose. Either he or LON hierarchy should… Read more »

Troyy
Reply to  commonwombat
2 years ago

He’s mostly needed to rescue the medley relays from 58 splits.

Sub13
Reply to  commonwombat
2 years ago

I completely agree with you. The approach they’ve taken is silly (but then a lot of ISL stuff is silly so not really a surprise I guess).

He was never as good in SCM, and he won’t be in prime shape, but he absolutely can still be a game changer, mainly because of how bad Roar’s male breast is right now.

Out of 6 breast swims at the last match, 5 of them were jackpotted and one got 3 points. Even if Peaty had come 4th in all 3, that would have been enough to win the match.

Also, Duncan Scott was put in the relay and out split the actual breast strokers. Peaty would at least be able to… Read more »

Troyy
Reply to  Sub13
2 years ago

Perhaps Scott would’ve won the 400 IM if he wasn’t in the MMR.

Sub13
Reply to  Troyy
2 years ago

He was beaten by 1 second which is not a huge margin in the 4IM, and the person that beat him had not just swum in the MMR. It’s certainly in the realm of possibility that that could have made the difference.

Jamesabc
Reply to  commonwombat
2 years ago

London is not guaranteed the final for sure but it would be pretty unlikely for them not to be there. If Aqua beats Toronto tomorrow (certainly possible) then Roar is in the final. If Roar beats LA this weekend then Roar is in the final.

Troyy
Reply to  Sub13
2 years ago

The coyness would be a bit weird if he weren’t making an appearance at all.

Sub13
Reply to  Troyy
2 years ago

You would think so. But it’s also possible that he isn’t coming, and they’ve been told not to confirm it because it will make people lose interest.

She also said he had been strongly supporting the team all season even though he hasn’t been swimming. I literally have not seen him mention Roar or ISL once on social media this whole year. Hmmm

Troyy
Reply to  Sub13
2 years ago

They could’ve just said they don’t know instead of being coy/playing games.

Sub13
Reply to  Troyy
2 years ago

Her exact words “whether or not he comes, I don’t think that’s something we can really say or share, but everyone’s going to have to wait and see” with an upward inflection and what sounded like excitement at the end.

My brain tells me that she is obviously hinting he will be showing up. He doesn’t have any more dancing, he doesn’t have any more commitments for his book, and the final is in 2 weeks. It seems like he really should know whether or not he’s showing up by now and stringing people long either way is irritating.

Admin
Reply to  Sub13
2 years ago

This is the ISL we have, so this is the ISL we have to live with.

Somewhere in their minds, they’ve become fixated on the idea that not sharing information is what builds excitement in sports. That actually began at the very first ISL kickoff meeting in London. We were doing what we do – reporting quickly – and an ISL exec tapped me on the shoulder and told me to stop, because somebody had convinced him that us reporting the information quickly would stop the big papers from showing up the next day.

(A reporter from one of our competitors was sitting behind me, got up from and returned to his seat shortly before that. I’ll let you decide… Read more »

Sub13
Reply to  Braden Keith
2 years ago

Interesting! Adam Peaty is probably one of the most well known and well liked swimmers in the world. I can’t understand how someone would think that being sketchy about whether he’s going to participate would drum up more interest than having him actively promote the match and selling his “comeback” to the pool.

He posted on Instagram today that his book obligations are done so who knows, maybe he’ll show up in Eindhoven tomorrow.

Jamesabc
Reply to  Braden Keith
2 years ago

Your final paragraph hit the nail on the head. They’re focussing all this attention on ‘will this big star show up at the meet’ so if he doesn’t then people (including me) will not be happy.

I suspect that the ISL is not long for this world (and I suspect that the proposed Australian SL won’t even get off the ground), so I just want to see Roar win it once before it folds.

Troyy
Reply to  Sub13
2 years ago

Yes, that’s the impression I get as well but watch us be wrong.

mynameis*
2 years ago

In hindsight I don’t think Energy would still prefer Guy (3.50) to De Tullio (3.38 at Euro sc), at least in 400 free

Barry
2 years ago

Seeing a 1:01 split on a men’s freestyle relay is… not a good look.

CasualSwimmer
Reply to  Barry
2 years ago

I think you can remove the “men’s”, it’s bad for any international 4×100 freestyle relay.. The whole purpose of the B team was to not get too much negative points, so it was more of a cool down than a race for some swimmers

Gen D
2 years ago

litchfield with the duncan-scott like schedule getting 2nd in the 400 free after swimming 2 200s earlier… wow

Eric the eel > Phelps
2 years ago

marry me Kylie (or Kayla)