International Swimming League 2020: Iron
- 2019 finish: 5th
- 2019 MVP: Vladimir Morozov (121.5 MVP points)
Hungary-based Iron was the clear-cut best team to miss the ISL finale in 2019, and that was due to the European group fielding the two best teams in the league. Iron turns over a lot of its roster this year, including MVP Vladimir Morozov, but the roster is still strong.
Iron has already created two videos to introduce their women’s and men’s rosters, led by captain Katinka Hosszu, coach Jozsef Nagy, and GM Dorina Szekeres.
Additions
- Mireia Belmonte (LON)
- Jess Hansen (LON)
- Emilie Beckmann
- Isabella Hindley
- Caroline Pilhatsch
- Tatjana Schoenamker
- Daria K. Ustinova
- Daryna Zevina
- Marco Orsi
- Guilherme Bassetto
- Ramon Klenz
- Maxim Lobanovzkij
- Artsion Machekin
- Clement Mignon
- Oussama Sahnoune
- Emre Sakci
- Nicholas Santos
- Leonardo Santos
- Thom de Boer
- Yakov Toumarkin
London Roar alums Mireia Belmonte and Jess Hansen are the big free agent additions from within the league. Belmonte is a natural fit with the Iron brand – a tough 200-fly specialist who can take on a tough event lineup. Hansen helps fill the breaststroke void left by the departed Alia Atkinson.
Italian sprinter Marco Orsi is an accomplished short course swimmer and a big pickup on the men’s side.
Losses
- Alia Atkinson
- Zsuzsanna Jakabos
- Kim Busch
- Ajna Kesely
- Kira Toussaint
- Mie Nielsen
- Fanny Lecluyse
- Kimberly Buys
- Katalin Burian
- Jessica Vall
- Vladimir Morozov
- Szebaztian Szabo
- Gunnar Bentz
- Pieter Timmers
- Adam Telegdy
- Richard Bohus
- Erik Persson
- Peter John Stevens
- Henrik Christiansen
- Dominik Kozma
- Jeremy Desplanches
- Gergely Gyurta
There are some very impactful losses. Alia Atkinson was a big-time breaststroker last year, and she jumps over to London. Meanwhile Iron lost a few of its Hungarian talents: Zsuzsanna Jakabos is now with Energy Standard and Ajna Kesely with the NY Breakers.
Vladimir Morozov is the toughest loss – he was a two-time skin race winner and would have been effective in the 50s of multiple strokes, along with the newly-added 100 IM. Losing Szebaztian Szabo hurts the sprint group further.
Returners
- Katinka Hosszu
- Ranomi Kromowidjojo
- Veronika Andrusenko
- Jenna Laukkanen
- Maria Ugolkova
- Valerie van Roon
- Kristof Milak
- Robert Glinta
- David Verraszto
- Ross Murdoch
It’s a pretty short list of returners. Ranomi Kromowidjojo was essential to return, especially after losing Morozov. Katinka Hosszu is back, and while she doesn’t impact the sprints or relays as much, her legendary versatility and endurance make her about as effective as a distance-oriented swimmer could possibly be in the ISL format.
Kristof Milak is a massive addition and a fast riser in the butterfly races.
Full Roster
WOMEN:
- Katinka Hosszu
- Ranomi Kromowidjojo
- Veronika Andrusenko
- Mireia Belmonte
- Jenna Laukkanen
- Jessica Hansen
- Maria Ugolkova
- Valerie van Roon
- Emilie Beckmann
- Melanie Henique
- Isabella Hindley
- Caroline Pilhatsch
- Tatjana Schoenmaker
- Daria K. Ustinova
- Daryna Zevina
MEN:
- Robert Glinta
- Ross Murdoch
- Guilherme Bassetto
- Ramon Klenz
- Maixm Lobanovszkij
- Artsiom Machekin
- Clement Mignon
- Marco Orsi
- Oussama Sahnoune
- Emre Sakci
- Nicholas Santos
- Leonardo Santos
- Thom de Boer
- Yakov Toumarkin
- Kristof Milak
- David Verraszto
“Italian sprinter Marco Orsi is an accomplished short course swimmer and a big pickup on the men’s side.”
…is Nicholas Santos a joke to you? You know, the 50 fly world record holder with plenty of more short course success in the past two years compared to Il Bomber. Talk about a big pickup! I can’t wait to see him race 😀
Interesting so morozov is joining the new Tokyo team created