2019 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE: GROUP B, MATCH 1
- Saturday, October 19th – Sunday, October 20th
- 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Central Time
- The LISD Westside Aquatic Center – Lewisville, TX
- Short Course Meters (SCM)
- Group B: Iron, LA Current, London Roar, New York Breakers
- Live Stream, Event Schedule, and Viewer’s Guide
- U.S. Live Stream (ESPN3)
- Full meet results
We’ve got race videos and daily highlights from the International Swimming League’s third match, the Group B kickoff in Lewisville, Texas, including both of the thrilling three-round 50 free ‘skins’ races, which cut the field in half with each successive round.
All videos courtesy of the International Swimming League on YouTube:
Women’s Skins Race:
It was a gamble of lineup changes, as London swapped Emma McKeon in for Bronte Campbell late in the meet. Did it pay off for the Roar?
Men’s Skins Race:
A brutally close field, especially in round 1. And there was drama aplenty, with another London Roar lineup change (Cameron McEvoy in for Bruno Fratus) and a race delay throwing a wrench into mid-round rest strategies.
Day 1 Highlights:
Day 2 Highlights:
Women’s 200 IM:
Women’s 4×100 Free Relay:
Men’s 4×100 Free Relay:
Men’s 50 Free:
Vladimir Morozov MVP Highlights From Day 1:
Morozov would go on to be named meet MVP in a busy all-around weekend for Iron.
I’d like to see a random stroke Skins. Teams enter their swimmers blindly, and the stroke is drawn from a hat just before the event, each round a new draw. We could see Adam Peaty vs. Caeleb Dressel backstroke, or Cate Campbell vs. Sarah Sjostrom breaststroke. That would put a new level of excitement and stakes into the event.
Now I want to gamble on some events , especially the skins , lol
In Indy, Sjostrom and Manaudou won all three races.
In Naples, Sjostrom and Dressel won all three races.
In Dallas, Cate Campbell won the first race and then was eliminated in the second. Kromowidjojo went 2-1-1. And Morozov was fourth in the first race, nearly getting eliminated, before winning the next two rounds. Unpredictable!
I think they should shake it up, because there is a tendency for WR holder types to run the table on 50 Free. How about 4×100 stroke skins – Fly, Back, Breast, Free. Alternating Men/women rounds for rest.
50 of stroke at random would be cool. But really it would still just be Dressel, Manaudo, and Morozov still dominating.
The editing on these videos is abysmal. I don’t know about the general viewer, but I don’t think many swimmers think it necessary to make a cut and transition in the middle of a 50 free. I hope that the ISL seriously looks into cutting back on the edits.
Swimming McEvoy was bad for the roar.
It held Chalmers out of the second round and he was much more likely to progress to the third round.
McKeon was a good decision. Although I do think Cate would have had a better chance at actually beating Ranomi.
Cate might have gone a bit too hard in the first round. She only needs to be in the top 4 so maybe Morozov’s gamble of swimming the first round a bit slower could help her.
Agreed, though it’s probably hard to judge how slow you could safely go. Morozov almost didn’t make it and Chalmers was just squeezed out. Making it out of the first round is crucial.
London Roar should also consider resting their skins swimmers instead of putting them in the 4×100 mixed relay… Not everyone can recover as well as Dressel apparently can.
Not everyone is used to Gregg Troy sets
Skins in all four strokes please.
He lost to Scozzoli at 2017 SCM Euros.
Really cool to see the pros doing back to backs of the type you see in training. Interesting only Kromo and Mrozov did a mini swim down before the last round.
Yeah I think a lowkey point of interest is how athletes are handling that recovery. I think the reality is that there’s not enough information yet to know which is the best way, but some sit and get a rubdown, some stand behind the blocks and catch their breath, some do a little cool down.
Love watching the skins format, the races are always exciting. The only problem is when you have two swimmers for the same team in the final, there’s a lot less tension.