The Energy Standard Club, owned by International Swimming League owner Konstantin Grigorishin, announced last week that it will field an ISL team, and included five initial big-name signees.
Those signees were Femke Heemskerk, Ilya Shymanovich, Danas Rapsys, Emily Seebohm, Kierra Smith. Click here to read more.
Grigorishin is the leading shareholder of the Energy Standard Group, which sponsors the Energy Standard Club swim team. He’s been the main face (and financial backer) of the International Swimming League, and will now own one of the four European clubs in the league’s inaugural season.
Thursday, the club announced the signing of seven more athletes: Anton Chupkov, Evgeny Rylov, Fantine Lesaffre, Charlotte Bonnet, Rebecca Smith, Andrei Minakov and Kayla Sanchez. Note: Minakov and Sanchez will not receive any money – Minakov is an NCAA athlete at USC, and Sanchez is only 17 and could still have an NCAA career ahead.
The ISL envisions 4 European clubs and 4 U.S.-based clubs in its first year. So far, we know the four European clubs, but no American teams have yet been announced:
Europe:
- Germany: ONEflow Aquatic
- Hungary: Iron Swim Budapest (owned by Katinka Hosszu, features Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Alia Atkinson)
- Great Britain: Name TBA (features Adam Peaty, Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell, Kyle Chalmers)
- Energy Standard (features Femke Heemskerk, Ilya Shymanovich, Danas Rapsys, Emily Seebohm, Kierra Smith, Anton Chupkov, Evgeny Rylov, Fantine Lesaffre, Charlotte Bonnet, Rebecca Smith, Andrei Minakov and Kayla Sanchez)
U.S.:
- No announced teams yet
Chupkov won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic in the 200 breast, and is a multi-time Worlds medalist, including gold in the 200 breast in 2017; Rylov was the Rio bronze medalist in the 200 back and won gold in that event at the 2017 FINA World Championships; Lesaffre was the 2018 European Champion in the 400 IM; Bonnett was the 2018 European Champion in the 200 free; Smith made Canada’s 2017 Commonwealth Games team; Minakov is a world junior record holder, and Sanchez also was a member of Canada’s 2018 Commonwealth team.
Energy Standard posted Instagram announcements for each new addition:
