2019 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE FINALE
- Friday, December 20 – Saturday, December 21, 2019
- 1:00 – 3:00 PM Local Time (U.S. Pacific Time)
- Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino – Las Vegas, NV
- Short Course Meters (SCM) format
- Top 4 qualifying franchises: Energy Standard, London Roar, LA Current, Cali Condors
- Live Stream (ESPN3)
- Day 1 complete results
- Day 2 start lists
After using Caeleb Dressel in the 50 breaststroke on Friday, the Cali Condors will go with Nic Fink and Andrew Wilson in the 100 breaststroke on Saturday to close the 2019 International Swimming League Grand Finale in Las Vegas.
The Condors made the biggest move versus projection on day 1 of the meet on Friday, but still sit in a tight team battle behind Energy Standard, the team with the best command of the ISL format, and London Roar, the pre-meet favorites.
In Nic Fink, the Condors have a swimmer who won both the 50 and 200 meter breaststroke races on Friday. In the 100, he’ll face the long course 100 breast World Record holder Adam Peaty, but with Fink on fire so far this meet, he might rightly be the favorite in this race.
The Condors’ other entry, Andrew Wilson, is a liability after his 200 breaststroke on Friday where he finished 8th in 2:10.42 – almost 4 seconds behind the field. But, with Dressel having an already-busy schedule of the 100 free, 50 fly, mixed 400 free relay, and skins race, it’s a risk that the Condors are almost forced to take.
There are no huge surprises of entries on day 2 that we noticed. The Current will use Andrew Seliskar in the 400 free but not the 200 IM – a double that he handled so well in his team’s first two meets, winning the 200 IM in both meets, but a double they haven’t entered him in since. They’ll go with Josh Prenot and Chase Kalisz instead, leaving Seliskar with just 1 swim on Saturday.
A subtle shift comes in a change of lineup for the Current’s Tom Shields as well. He’s dropped the individual 100 free and been moved back onto the mixed 400 free relay after doing the reverse in DC, giving him a lineup of the 50 fly – mixed 400 free relay – 200 fly. The men’s mixed 400 free relay and the 200 fly are scheduled to be raced only 20 minutes apart.
Lineups for the supremely-important skins events, worth 27 points for the champion, are below. This event features 8 athletes, whittled to 4, and then to 2, in progressive rounds of 50 freestyles, separated by 3 minutes each.
Skins Lineups (Men):
- LAC – Nathan Adrian
- LAC – Michael Chadwick
- LON – Duncan Scott
- LON – Kyle Chalmers
- ENS – Florent Manaudou
- ENS – Ben Proud
- CAC – Bowe Becker
- CAC – Caeleb Dressel
No real surprises here. There are a few changes from the Derby entries, but that’s mostly dictated by swimmers who weren’t present at that meet returning (Nathan Adrian and Kyle Chalmers, for example). Caeleb Dressel was the prohibitive favorite coming into the race, and after dominating the 50 free in a new World Record, that status is even more secure now.
Skins Lineups (Women):
- LAC – Farida Osman
- LAC – Beryl Gastaldello
- LON – Emma McKeon
- LON – Cate Campbell
- ENS – Sarah Sjostrom
- ENS – Femke Heemskerk
- CAC – Olivia Smoliga
- CAC – Kasia Wasick
In the women’s skins race, the Current will use Farida Osman. At U.S. Derby meet, the team used Margo Geer in this slot, but Geer isn’t on their roster for this Grand Finale. London Roar, meanwhile, have entered Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell straight up – for most of the season, they’ve entered Bronte Campbell before mid-meet shifting to McKeon. After a poor showing for the Roar on day 1, getting both of those swimmers to at least the semi-finals might be a necessity.
Energy Standard has shifted back to Femke Heemskerk to swim with Sarah Sjostrom. The pair went 1-2 in the team’s group-stage matches, where the field wasn’t as deep, but used the hot handed Kayla Sanchez alongside Sjostrom in the European Derby. Sanchez successfully made the semi-final in that race.
DAY 1 TEAM SCORES:
- Energy Standard 219
- Cali Condors 205.5
- London Roar 202
- LA Current 185.5
TOP-10 MVP POINTS AFTER DAY 1
- Caeleb Dressel CAC – 52.0
- Nic Fink CAC – 41.0
- Sarah Sjostrom ENS – 37.0
- Lilly King CAC – 36.0
- Florent Manaudou ENS / Olivia Smoliga CAC – 32.0 (tie)
- –
- Ryan Murphy LAC – 31.0
- Chad le Clos ENS / Duncan Scott LON – 29.0 (tie)
- –
- Kyle Chalmers LON / Beryl Gastaldello LAC 28.0 (tie)
Yesterday 300 in attendance. Today 400. Ticket sales alone will not keep the ISL going.
Ticket sales were fine in Europe.
I’m here too and there’s at least 1k, what are you on?
Maybe you have double vision. Definitely not 1K.
Is Bowe Becker really better than Tate Jackson? I know they are really even but I though Jackson was a little better. Maybe Becker is better at SCM.
It seems weird that Fink and Margalis were on their game the first day while Chase and Wilson were struggling….and all 4 from the same program.