10 ISL “League Records” Were Broken in Week 1 of the 2020 Season

There were 10 swims last weekend that stand as new all-time bests in ISL history.

The International Swimming League, which has a mixed and inconsistent relationship with times, doesn’t formally keep ‘league records.’  That being said, the broadcast crew did on several occasions refer to “ISL records,” and informally, the records coming into the season were simply the best times from last year.

There are a few wrinkles that make these ‘event records’ more interesting.

For starters, the event lineup for season 1 vs. season 2 of the league has changed. Besides the addition of the 100 IM, which adds general fatigue to at least 4 swimmers on each team, the order of events have changed. For example, last season, the 400 IM was in the very first session of the meet, where swimmers are fresh. This season, it comes at the end of the meet, before the skins races, where swimmers are fatigued.

In that case it’s not likely to matter this year – Daiya Seto’s 400 IM in Las Vegas last season was a World Record, and with him not racing, nor American Chase Kalisz, nor Chase Kalisz, Jay Litherland, or many of the world’s other top 400 IMers, that record probably wasn’t going to be broken this season anyway.

But, this sort of highlights why ISL Records aren’t super important – unlike at the Olympics or the World Championships, times are way more dependent on the shifting context of the league, and even for the athletes, who still care about their times, they share a focus with points and placement.

They’re still fun, for us swim fans at least, none-the-less.

Below are a list of ISL “Records” that were broken last weekend.

• See the top 10 times in each men’s event in Season 1
• See the top 10 times in each women’s event in Season 1

Week 1 of the 2020 ISL Season: League Records

• W 50 Breaststroke, Lilly King, Cali Condors: 28.86 (previous mark was her own at 28.90)
• M 200 Backstroke, Radoslaw Kawecki, Cali Condors: 1:48.51 (previous mark was Ryan Murphy’s 1:48.73)
• W 200 Freestyle, Siobhan Haughey, Energy Standard: 1:51.67 (previous mark was her own 1:51.99)
• W 50 Backstroke, Olivia Smoliga, Cali Condors: 25.74 (previous mark was Minna Atherton’s 25.81)
• M 200 Breaststroke, Marco Koch, New York Breakers: 2:02.12 (previous mark was Nic Fink’s 2:02.34)
• W 200 Medley, Melanie Margalis, Cali Condors: 2:04.06 (previous mark was Katinka Hosszu’s 2:04.06)
• M 50 Butterfly, Szebasztian Szabo, Aqua Centurions: 22.00 (previous mark was Caeleb Dressel‘s 22.06)
• W 50 Butterfly, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, IRON: 24.74 (previous mark was Beryl Gastaldello’s 24.75)
• W 100 Medley, Sarah Sjostrom, Energy Standard: 57.74 (no previous mark)
• M 100 Medley, Caeleb Dressel, Cali Condors: 51.36 (no previous mark)