BUDAPEST – Adam Peaty is the best breaststroker in the world – when it comes to the 50 and the 100 meters. He is the Olympic and World Champion, he holds the world records in both events. But the 200? Those he has not swum on international level in years, let alone in a short course pool. His personal best dates back to the 2017 European Short Course Championships, where he finished 13th with 2:07,34 minutes.
But these days, its all about the team, the captain of the London Roar says on the day before his debut in the International Swimming League (ISL), the first professional league in the history of swimming. And for the team, serial winner Peaty is willing to step up in the 200 as well, since Matthew Wilson, London's winner of this race at last weeks stop in Lewisville, Texas, won't be competing in Budapest.
“ISL is all about strategy, sometimes you might have to take a defeat for strategy, sometimes I got to swallow my pride”, the 24 year old says. “I know where my strengths are, I know my weaknesses, and its applying those to the team and being very smart about it. I know the 200 will be hard to win tomorrow because it is back to back to back, and I never do three races in one session.” But not doing it would just be “the wrong attitude to use”, Peaty says.
Peaty sat out the first match of the London Roar last weekend because of a training camp with the British team. But he was "very impressed" with his teams results. With a total of 18 wins out of 37 events the London Roar took 484.5 points to Budapest, keeping the LA Current at bay (457 points). Iron follows with 402 points ahead of the New York Breakers (278.5).
“It all comes down to using this momentum for us, propelling ourselves forward and not to get complacent”, says Peaty, who has fond memories of the Danube Arena. This is where he defended his first world titles 2017, this is where he confirmed his status as the most dominant breaststroker in the world. “Budapest is always a great crowd”, he said, adding: “I have a big fan base here.”
The swimmer sitting next to him in the press conference might beg to differ on this last statement, though. Katinka Hosszu, captain of team Iron, relies on the home crowd to take on the other clubs. “I am actually nervous, which I have not been in a while”, the three-time Olympic Champion says. “It was getting a bit boring for me these last years, honestly, but now I am really excited.”
Iron got of to a bad start last week, but recovered fairly quick. On the second day in Lewisville they were already scoring almost the same number of points as London and LA. But it was the wins by sprint stars Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Vladimir Morozov in the skins, three back-to-back knockout heats of 50 free, that had them crack the 400-points mark. A repeat performance from the sprint stars in these triple-points events would go a long way to moving Iron up in the final standings, since only the top two teams of Europe and of the USA advance to the league's final in Las Vegas. But with the swim-crazy Hungarian fans backing them, Hosszu is sure: “We are ready to beat London now.”
For further text, images, video and information go to http://apmultimedianewsroom.com/multimedia-newsroom/partners/international-swimming-league
Meet details
What: Fourth competition of the International Swimming League’s inaugural season
Who: LA Current, NY Breakers, Team Iron, London Roar
When: Saturday and sunday, October 16th and 27th, 7pm
Where: Budapest, Hungary
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.
25 October 2019
