Anton McKee Will Return to Racing in Iceland This Weekend

The Icelandic Swimming Federation (FSI) hosted its first big swim meet since the return from the coronavirus quarantine last weekend for age group swimmers, and this coming weekend will host one focused on senior/open caliber swimmers.

These meets are a leadup to the resumption of national championship competition on the island nation that lies midway between Europe and North America. Iceland will host an Age Group National Championship meet from July 3-5 and an open Icelandic Championship (in long course) from July 17-19.

A spokesperson for the federation says that they are expecting international swimmers attending the national championship meet.

Last weekend, in a 25 meter pool in Akraness, 353 mostly age group athletes competed in 3 days of competition.

This coming weekend, the federation will host a meet for athletes aged 15 & over. The federation is expecting participation from several international-caliber swimmers, including Anton McKee.

McKee, who spent his college years at Alabama where he was the NCAA runner-up in the 200 breaststroke in 2017, is the only Icelandic swimmer to have qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games so far. His best finish at the 2019 World Championships was 16th place in the 200 breaststroke.

He holds Icelandic National Records in 14 individual events, including with a 2:10.21 in the 200 breaststroke in long course meters. McKee has been announced as a member of the roster of the Toronto Titans for season 2 of the International Swimming League.

Iceland, like many of the world’s island nations, has dodged the worst of the global coronavirus pandemic. The country has 1,812 confirmed coronavirus cases leading to 10 deaths among its population of about 364,000. The country has opened itself up to international travel, including from the US, and is averaging a new confirmed case of the virus only every few days over the last 6 weeks.