Kosuke Kitajima, the only man to have won two back-to-back Olympic breaststroke titles, will front the Tokyo team with Toronto also unveiled as the International Swimming League expands to 10 squads for the 2020/2021 season.
Four-time Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima is the latest swimming luminary to endorse the International Swimming League with the news that he will front a Tokyo outfit next season as the number of teams competing from next season will rise to 10.
Tokyo and Toronto, Canada, were unveiled as the two new franchises who have yet to be named that will compete in the ISL in the 2020-2021 season at a media conference following the inaugural grand finale won by Energy Standard at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas.
Tokyo will take their place alongside the European teams of Energy Standard, London Roar, Team Iron and Aqua Centurions.
Toronto - who will be led by Global Swim Series founder Robert Kent - will join the US-based quartet of Cali Condors, LA Current, DC Trident and NY Breakers.
The season will comprise 27 matches - regular season, play-offs and final - taking place between September and April with windows for the World Short-Course Championships in Abu Dhabi in December 2020 and trials season in March 2021 ahead of the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Kitajima, of Japan, is the only man to have won the Olympic breaststroke double double, claiming back-to-back 100m and 200m titles at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 and retired with seven medals across four Games.
Kitajima said: “I am delighted and truly excited to be part of elevating the value of the sport of swimming in a global context. The opportunity for swimmers to succeed in the professional arena is something that most of us have only dreamed about.
“The ISL will make it possible for swimmers and their coaches to highlight their talent throughout the year in a global arena and inspire children to pursue the sport.’’
Kitajima is no stranger to being a source of inspiration himself with both Olympic 100m champion Adam Peaty and world 200m gold medallist Anton Chupkov citing the ‘Frog King’ as one they have always looked up to, both men competing in the ISL for London Roar and Energy Standard respectively.
The first day of the grand finale witnessed a thundering 400IM world record of 3mins 54.81secs by Japanese swimmer Daiya Seto who was making his ISL debut for Energy Standard.
Eyes will be on the 25-year-old in the run-up to Tokyo where he will be looking to add to his bronze from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
ISL founder Konstantin Grigorishin said: "The International Swimming League must be a truly global one but our development needs to be sustainable, so we are delighted that we are able to announce that one of our two new clubs for next season will be in Tokyo – the global capital of sport in 2020.
"Japan is one of the world’s leading swimming nations with a large fanbase so we expect to see a very competitive team be developed there and many fans excited to learn of our plans.’’
Thirteen Canadian swimmers have competed in the ISL this season, among them Penny Oleksiak who won four medals at Rio 2016, including joint gold with Simone Manuel in the 100m freestyle, and Kylie Masse, the world 100m backstroke champion.
Kent said: “I’m exceptionally excited about the opportunity to join the ISL. I think everyone can appreciate how new and exciting and revolutionary the ISL is and to be a part of this in the second year is a total thrill for me personally.
“I think we are at the cusp of something – not only for the league – but I think swimming in general and part9ally because of the league, there is no reason we couldn’t see a real explosion in swimming and bringing the professional format to a bigger and wider audience – especially after what we saw in Las Vegas.
“That was about as much fun as you could stand and there is no reason we couldn’t do the same in Toronto. We have a large group of great Canadian swimmers that I am hoping to recruit and we also have a large group of up-an d-coming swimmers that we want to develop and the ISL, looking at our market in Canada, will only serve to do that so much better.”
Grigorishin added: "Our vision is for the International Swimming League to be a truly global one so it is fantastic we are able to bring our league to new audiences in Canada for next season.
"This is only part of our development strategy, though, as we also see our responsibilities and opportunities in the areas of sustainability, inclusion, integration and the green environment by working together with our new franchises, including in Toronto, in the area of mass participation.’’
For further text, images, video and information go to http://apmultimedianewsroom.com/multimedia-newsroom/partners/international-swimming-league
About the ISL: The International Swimming League is a global professional swimming competition launching in 2019 with teams in both Europe (Italy-based Aqua Centurions, France-based Energy Standard, Hungary-based Iron, and London Roar) and the United States (Cali Condors, DC Trident, LA Current, NY Breakers). The inaugural season will include matches in Indianapolis IN, Naples ITA, Lewisville TX, Budapest HUN, College Park MD, London GBR, and the championship finale at the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The ISL aims to create groundbreaking projects, in both form and content, exploring the full potential of competitive swimming while securing sustainable commercial growth in the sport.
Media Contact: James Mulligan (james.mulligan@isl.global)
21 December 2019
