Over 100 Olympians are represented by the ISL, including 41 Olympic gold medals from the 2016 Olympic Games.
The second match of the International Swimming League’s inaugural season proved to be one of theatrics and fireworks, as the club battles for first and third place came right down to the magical match-ending skins event.
Energy Standard, the club that won the first match in Indianapolis by 82 points, engineered a massive comeback as they erased a 32.5-point deficit in the skins and topped the runner-up Cali Condors by 2.5 points for another first-place finish.
The skins are a three-round 50 freestyle eliminator, with points (and prizes) worth up to triple that of a regular race: 8 competitors start, with 4 advancing to the next round 3 minutes later, and 2 going on to a head-to-head final round another 3 minutes after that. Energy Standard had three of four possible athletes make the finals between men’s and women’s races.
Energy Standard and the Cali Condors put up 493 and 490.5 points respectively, as the gap from their first match (539-457) was bridged significantly, and the same can be said for third and fourth place finishers DC Trident (322) and Aqua Centurions (321.5). In Indy, the Trident held a 30-point advantage over the Centurions (330.5-300.5).
CLUB STANDINGS - GROUP A
Place Club Matches Played Standings Points Match Points (Naples)
1 Energy Standard 2 8 493
2 Cali Condors 2 6 490.5
3 DC Trident 2 4 322
4 Aqua Centurions 2 2 321.5
Despite ultimately coming up short, the Condors won 17 of the 39 events on the schedule. Energy Standard claimed 13, but that included three relays (worth double points) and their strong showing in the skins.
The main difference-maker from the first match for the Cali Condors was Caeleb Dressel, who was making his ISL debut in Naples after missing Indianapolis. The 23-year-old American superstar scored 57.5 points, earning MVP honors for the highest-scoring woman or man, and setting a new league record for points scored in one match after Sarah Sjostrom was the top scorer in Indy with 55.5.
Dressel won four individual events, including the men’s skins, had one runner-up finish, and swam on three relays that all finished in the top-3.
Sjostrom was once again the top performer for Energy Standard, scoring 52 points with four individual victories, one second-place finish, and also contributed on one winning relay. Dressel and Sjostrom had identical individual results: first in the 50 free, 100 free, 50 fly, and the skins, and second in the 100 fly.
Chad Le Clos of Energy Standard and Olivia Smoliga of the Condors, both co-captains with Sjostrom and Dressel on their clubs, were the other two swimmers to earn over 40 points with 44.5 and 44 respectively. Individually, Le Clos won the men’s 100 and 200 fly for the second straight match, and Smoliga defended her crown in the women’s 100 back.
Women’s Scoring Leaders
Ranking Athlete Club Points
1 Sarah Sjostrom Energy Standard 52.0
2 Olivia Smoliga Cali Condors 44.0
3 Bethany Galat DC Trident 33.5
4 Siobhan Haughey DC Trident 33.0
5 Lilly King Cali Condors 31.5
6 Kelsi Dahlia Cali Condors 31.0
7 Kayla Sanchez Energy Standard 29.0
8 Melanie Margalis Cali Condors 28.5
9 Femke Heemskerk Energy Standard 28.0
10 Kylie Masse Cali Condors 25.5
Men’s Scoring Leaders
Ranking Athlete Club Points
1 Caeleb Dressel Cali Condors 57.5
2 Chad Le Clos Energy Standard 44.5
3 Florent Manaudou Energy Standard 31.0
4 Evgeny Rylov Energy Standard 27.5
5 Ilya Shymanovich Energy Standard 26.5
6 Nicolo Martinenghi Aqua Centurions 25.5
7 Mitch Larkin Cali Condors 25.0
8 Breno Correia Aqua Centurions 22.0
9 Nic Fink Cali Condors 21.0
10 Andreas Vazaios DC Trident 20.5
The Condor women were the highest scoring single gender on one club with 261.5 points, while Energy Standard had a much more balanced with their men and women separated by only 11 points.
Scoring Breakdown by Gender
Club Female Points Male Points Mixed Points Total
Energy Standard 239.0 228.0 26.0 493.0
Cali Condors 261.5 209.0 20.0 490.5
DC Trident 165.5 144.5 12.0 322.0
Aqua Centurions 110.0 195.5 16.0 321.5
In the prize money rankings, Dressel walked away with a match-leading $13,500 by virtue of his points, plus an additional $5,000 for winning MVP. Sjostrom was the only other athlete to crack $10K in Naples at $12,900. Sjostrom is the top overall earner through two matches at $31,400.
Prize Money Rankings (USD)
Naples
Rank Athlete Club Prize Money
1 Caeleb Dressel Cali Condors $18,500
2 Sarah Sjostrom Energy Standard $12,900
3 Olivia Smoliga Cali Condors $8,400
4 Chad Le Clos Energy Standard $7,500
T-5 Lilly King Cali Condors $6,300
T-5 Florent Manaudou Energy Standard $6,300
7 Kelsi Dahlia Cali Condors $5,700
8 Femke Heemskerk Energy Standard $5,400
T-9 Melanie Margalis Cali Condors $4,800
T-9 Kayla Sanchez Energy Standard $4,800
For a full breakdown on how the point scoring and prize money system works in the ISL, click here.
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.
Key Dates:
5-6 October 2019 – IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, USA
12-13 October 2019 – Aquatic Swimming Complex, Naples, Italy
19-20 October 2019 – The LISD Westside Aquatic Center, Lewisville, Texas, USA
26-27 October 2019 – Duna Area, Budapest, Hungary
16-17 November 2019 – Natatorium at the Eppley Recreation Center, Maryland, USA
23-24 November 2019 – London Aquatic Centre, Great Britain
20-21 December 2019 – Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, USA
ISL SOCIAL: Keep up with all the latest ISL news by following @iswimleague on Instagram and Twitter and @internationalswimmingleague on Facebook. Visit https://isl.global
Media Contact: James Mulligan (james.mulligan@isl.global)
International Swimming League Ltd
Alfred-Escher-Strasse 17, 8002 Zurich, Switzerland
15 October 2019
