2021 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – SEASON 3, MATCH 18 – LEAGUE FINAL
- Friday, December 3rd – Saturday, December 4th
- 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm local time; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST
- Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwemstadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Short Course Meters (25m – SCM) Format
- ISL Season 3 Schedules, Start Times, & More
- ISL Live Stream ($)
- Live Results
- Teams Competing: Energy Standard, Cali Condors, London Roar, LA Current
When all was said and done, a Masters swimmer sealed the victory for Energy Standard.
In a razor-thin battle with the Cali Condors that saw the clubs trade the lead back and forth during the final day of competition, Energy Standard clinched the Season 3 ISL championship title thanks to the efforts of Ben Proud and Adam Barrett in the men’s butterfly skins.
Energy Standard led the Condors by 27 points entering the men’s skins, with Anastasiya Shkurdai have put up 21 in the women’s backstroke event, and then Proud and Barrett both advanced through to the second round of the men’s fly skins, all but solidifying the Energy Standard victory.
Cali’s Caeleb Dressel earned a jackpot over Proud in Round 2, but with Barrett avoiding the jackpot, Energy Standard officially clinched the 2021 title.
Barrett, a British native, had been competing as a Masters swimmer for the last few years before joining Energy Standard for this season.
When the dust had settled, Energy Standard finished 12 points clear of the Condors, regaining the title after losing to Cali last season. Energy Standard won the inaugural championship back in 2019.
2021 ISL FINAL STANDINGS
- Energy Standard, 534.0
- Cali Condors, 522.0
- London Roar, 393.5
- LA Current, 305.5
A major swing in the match came in the women’s 4×100 medley relay, where Cali was controversially disqualified for a non-simultaneous touch from breaststroker Lilly King.
The Condors had initially won the race, but with the DQ, Energy Standard was awarded first place and the 38 points that went along with it. That race alone resulted in a 50-point swing between the two clubs, which was the clear difference-maker with the match being decided by just 12 points.
Cali did essentially everything they could’ve in spite of the disqualification—if it wasn’t for that one event, they would’ve won the championship handily. The biggest standout performer for the Condors was breaststroker Nic Fink, who upset Energy Standard’s Ilya Shymanovich in all three men’s breast events.
SJOSTROM WINS SEASON, FINAL MVP AWARDS
Energy Standard’s Sarah Sjostrom finished as the leading scorer in the final with 61 points, followed closely by Fink (59.5) and Cali’s Hali Flickinger (51.0).
In the season MVP race, it was a dominant victory for Sjostrom, as she compiled 511.5 points, 43.5 clear of runner-up Siobhan Haughey (468.0). Shymanovich (403.5) rounded out the top three.
ISL SEASON 3 – OVERALL TEAM STANDINGS
- Energy Standard, 534.0 points (final)
- Cali Condors, 522.0 points (final)
- London Roar, 393.5 points (final)
- LA Current, 305.5 points (final)
- Toronto Titans, 6 playoff match points
- Aqua Centurions / Iron, 5 playoff match points
- –
- DC Trident, 4 playoff match points
- Tokyo Frog Kings, 6 regular season points
- NY Breakers, 4 regular season points
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – DECEMBER 4: Energy Standard winning team during the ISL Final Match Day 2 at Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwembad on December 4, 2021 in Eindhoven, Netherlands (Photo by Jeroen Meuwsen/Orange Pictures)
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – DECEMBER 4: Energy Standard winning team during the ISL Final Match Day 2 at Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwembad on December 4, 2021 in Eindhoven, Netherlands (Photo by Jeroen Meuwsen/Orange Pictures)
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – DECEMBER 4: Energy Standard winner during the ISL Final Match Day 2 at Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwembad on December 4, 2021 in Eindhoven, Netherlands (Photo by Marcel ter Bals/Orange Pictures)
Jeez there are some salty Americans in the comments here… I assume all of you would be equally as outraged with the league if Chikunova had gotten the DQ instead of America’s favorite team?
I agree it was at best a very questionable DQ and really unfortunate that it decided the championship but the irony of all the Cali fans acting like Cali isn’t also the league’s favorite team is hilarious.
It was a really bad call by an official… not some KGB conspiracy so that the sport’s biggest star (and league’s most marketable team) could get screwed out of a championship
If it was a bad call, then why not reverse it? We have seen calls being reversed before, why not here? Clearly there is some bias.
* Energy robbed Season 3 title.
Wonder if theyre going to even get paid. LOL
Stars get preferential treatment and get paid all right. The rest of lane stuffers can wait for a couple or more years. The whole thing is operated on a huge debt trailing since 2019. But that doesn’t stop them from planning the next multicity season.
Stars might get preferential treatment but even Peaty is not fully paid.
The two people who I have seen say that they still haven’t been paid in full for last season (either privately or publicly) both didn’t compete this year.
One, Peaty, is clearly a star.
So I think there’s some kind of “do they get paid?” continuum that has to do with starpower AND continued competition.
The other is Michael Andrew probably.
This season was a joke. That was not a DQ.
Wasn’t a DQ so we know Energy didn’t really win.
Get a grip America
I’m not American.
This is why the NCAA (specifically IU Hoosiers) will always reign supreme!
Boring
What’s an NCAA?
It’s like the new NFTs whatchamacallit kids rave about these days
A baby competition where they swim in tiny pools
Dislike
Cali condors are the real champions.
Next season, some superstars might not participate in this rigging league after this scandal.
PS: And of course, they can dream about this season’s payments.
It’s hard to say people won’t participate when they can earn good money (assuming they get paid) but something needs to be done about the structure and reliability of the league
In an interview with a magazine last week , Adam Peaty said he hasn’t received his payments fully from last season. Can you imagine a star like Peaty still waiting to get paid?
Some people left last year and did not come back, wonder how many that might not return after this season if they are not getting paid. Is this something that applies to all teams or just to the swimmers not on Energy Standard?
I got the impression from Peaty that the non payment isn’t why he missed the season and he also said he didn’t support a boycott because it would kill the league.