International Swimming League Finale in Las Vegas: Day One Live Recap

2019 International Swimming League Finale

• Friday, December 20 – Saturday, December 21, 2019
• 1:00 – 3:00 PM Local Time (U.S. Pacific Time)
• Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino – Las Vegas, NV
• Short Course Meters (SCM) format
• Top 4 qualifying franchises: Energy Standard, London Roar, LA Current, Cali Condors
• Live Stream (ESPN3)
• Day 1 complete results

Lane Assignments:

• Energy Standard – Lanes 1/2
• Cali Condors – Lanes 3/4
• LA Current – Lanes 5/6
• London Roar – Lanes 7/8

SwimSwam’s Nick Pecoraro provides live color commentary on each race in italics, below:

We are live from Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where a few hundred fans are gathered to cheer on the finale. It looks like the smallest crowd of the season in the reduced-to-3,800 seat arena.

Women’s 100 fly

1. Kelsi Dahlia – CAC – 55.35
2. Anastasiya Shkurdai – ENS – 56.09
3. Emma McKeon – LON – 56.10
4. Sarah Sjostrom -ENS – 56.35
5. Farida Osman – LAC – 56.46
6. Marie Wattel – LON – 56.52
7. Natalie Hinds – CAC – 57.01
8. Kendyl Stewart – LAC – 57.04

Kelsi Dahlia touched first to win her first ISL event for the Cali Condors. Out first in 25.75, she was followed by Energy Standard’s Sarah Sjostrom and Anastasiya Shkurdai of Energy Standard. Dahlia came home in a quick 20.6 to get the win with 55.35 ahead of Skhurdai (56.09) and Emma McKeon of London Roar (56.10). Sjostrom touched fourth.

The times swum for this event were not as fast as previously. Energy Standard did unfortunately get the short-end of the stick with favorite Sjostrom swimming her slowest swim of the season (fastest time – 55.65). Luckily, Energy teammate Shkurdai’s second-place finish gave Energy a respectable 12 points. Kelsi Dahlia, on the other hand, did not disappoint for the Condors, yet teammate Hinds took 7th. The Roar had a quiet start with McKeon’s 3rd-place finish by 0.01s, however they scored more points than LA Currents with their 5-8 finish.

Men’s 100 fly

1. Caeleb Dressel – CAC – 49.10
2. Chad le Clos – ENS – 49.15
3. Tom Shields – LAC – 49.52
4. Jack Conger – LAC – 50.08
5. Vini Lanza – LON – 50.21
6. James Guy – LON – 50.56
7. Jan Switkowski – CAC – 50.68
8. Kregor Zirk – ENS – 50.76

Caeleb Dressel of Cali Condors handed Chad le Clos from Energy Standard his first 100 fly defeat of the ISL season. Le Clos was out first, turning in 22.82 at the 50 wall. He led through the 75 and looked as if he would remain unbeaten in the event, but Dressel put his head down over the final 10 meters and surged to a narrow win with 49.10 to le Clos’s 49.15. Tom Shields and Jack Conger of LA Current were third and fourth.

It was another iconic showdown against Energy’s le Clos and Cali Condor Dressel. Thanks to Dahlia’s momentum, Dressel was able to pull off a win over le Clos by just 0.05s. Yet it was LA Current’s Shields and Conger who had a strong showing with their 3-4 finish, worth 11 points.

Women’s 50 breast

1.    Lilly King – CAC – 28.90
2.    Molly Hannis – CAC – 29.05
3.    Imogen Clark – ENS – 29.61
4.    Annie Lazor – LAC – 29.90
5.    Jhennifer Conceicao – LAC – 30.09
6.    Siobhan-Marie O’Connor – LON – 30.21
7.    Jess Hansen – LON – 30.23
8.    Kayla Sanchez – ENS – 30.61

Lilly King of Cali Condors picks up her tenth win with a 28.90 in the 50 breast. The Condors earned 16 points with a 1-2 finish from King and Molly Hannis (29.05). Imogen Clark from Energy Standard was third in 29.61.

Lilly King is now 10-for-10 individually in the ISL, and Condor teammate Molly Hannis showed just how strong their team’s breaststroke squad really is with another 1-2 finish. Imogen Clark of Energy Standard accelerated at the finish to grab third, yet freestyler Kayla Sanchez unfortunately managed 8th-place.

Men’s 50 breast

1. Nic Fink – CAC – 25.75
2. Adam Peaty – LON – 25.88
3. Ilya Shymanovich – ENS – 25.92
4. Felipe Lima – LAC – 26.10
5. Kirill Prigoda – LON – 26.14
6. Will Licon – LAC – 26.59
7. Caeleb Dressel – CAC – 26.89
8. Anton Chupkov – ENS – 26.91

The Cali Condors made it 4-for-4 for the day as Nic Fink upset Adam Peaty in the 50 breast with 25.75. London Roar’s Peaty took second in 25.88, coming to the wall just ahead of Energy Standard’s Ilya Shymanovich. Fink led from the outset and Peaty’s last-minute surge fell just short.

Condors are now 4-for-4 with event wins, yet they seem to resemble a surface-level winning streak with their #2 swimmers fading to the bottom 4 places. In this race, Condor Nic Fink pulled a thrilling upset to earn his first ISL win against London Roar and Olympic champ Adam Peaty. While Condor Dressel took 7th, the Condors and the Roar both scored 11 points in the event. Energy Standard did take a major hit as breaststroke-stud Chupkov could only manage 8th (yet Shymanovich took 3rd).

Women’s 400 IM

1. Melanie Margalis – CAC – 4:24.15
2. Sydney Pickrem – LON – 4:26.55
3. Ella Eastin – LAC – 4:27.84
4. Mireia Belmonte – LON – 4:28.60
5. Fantine Lesaffre – 4:33.00
6. Mary-Sophie Harvey – ENS – 4:33.79
7. Bailey Andison – LAC – 4:34.24
8. Hali Flickinger – CAC – 4:35.51

LA Current’s Ella Eastin was out the quickly, turning in 1:00.89 at the fly-to-back wall. She built a two body-length lead after the backstroke, turning in 2:08.13. London Roar’s Sydney Pickrem and Cali Condors’ Melanie Margalis were both 2 seconds back, battling for second place. Margalis took over the lead on breaststroke, moving ahead of Eastin by 1.5 seconds. Margalis continued to increase her lead and wound up with her fourth consecutive win in the event, this time with an American Record of 4:24.15. Pickrem pulled even with Eastin on the breaststroke then outsplit her by more than a second over the final 50 meters to come in second.

The trend continues for the Condors, now 5-for-5 wins thanks to Melanie Margalis, yet are displaying a worrisome depth level as Hali Flickinger finished last. Because of this, the London Roar outscored the Condors by 2 points with Pickrem/Belmonte going 2-4.

Updated team scores:

1. Cali Condors – 59
2. London Roar – 44
3. Energy Standard / LA Current 41 (tie)

Men’s 400 IM

1. Daiya Seto – ENS – 3:54.81
2. Duncan Scott – LON – 3:59.81
3. Max Litchfield – ENS – 4:01.31
4. Andrew Seliskar – LAC – 4:06.01
5. Chase Kalisz – LAC – 4:06.27
6. Anton Ipsen – CAC – 4:09.09
7. Mark Szarnek – CAC – 4:10.52
8. Finlay Knox – LON – 4:13.23

Daiya Seto broke the World Record in the 400 IM with 3:54.81, giving Energy Standard its first win of the day. The old WR, set by Ryan Lochte, had stood for 9 years. Seto also took down the U.S. Open Record (3:59.52) with his swim. ENS picked up more points with a third-place finish from Max Litchfield. Seto went out hard from the outset and was up by over 2 seconds on the field after the butterfly leg. He was followed by Litchfield and Duncan Scott of London Roar throughout. The trio had several body lengths’ of clear water behind them.

This last event was a crucial success for Energy Standard and the London Roar. Daiya Seto‘s late addition paid off well with his world record and first ISL win, as well as Energy teammate Litchfield snagging 3rd behind him for a 15-point contribution. Duncan Scott also gave the London Roar a hopeful swing thanks to his second-place finish. The LA Current still remain quiet, yet are not too far from the pack, which is a very safe strategy to have early on.

Updated team scores:

1. Cali Condors – 64
2. Energy Standard – 56
3. London Roar – 52
4. LA Current – 50

Women’s 4×100 free

1. ENS 2 – 3:26.48
2. LON 1 – 3:26.71
3. CAC 1 – 3:27.65
4. ENS 1 – 3:31.35
5. LAC 1 – 3:31.87
6. LON 2 – 3:32.27
7. CAC 2 – 3:34.73
8. LAC 2 – 3:38.78

Penny Oleksiak (52.89), Sarah Sjostrom (51.41), Kayla Sanchez (51.56), and Femke Heemskerk (50.62) hold off a strong anchor from London Roar’s Cate Campbell (50.56) to give Energy Standard the win in the women’s 400 free relay with 3:26.48. The quartet finished under the current World Record but they would need to be of the same nationality to be able to break it, per FINA rules.

Energy Standard has carried the momentum off of Seto’s world record and took their second win of the finale. For the first time this meet, Energy Standard now holds the current lead, yet it’s by a meager 4 points over the Cali Condors. After Energy’s powerful relays, courtesy of “relay master” James Gibson, the London Roar had a solid showing (2-6 finish) and now trail the second-place Condors by just 8 points. The LA Current are now in a slightly more worrisome position after finishing 5-8 in the relay, sitting in 4th by 12 points.

Men’s 200 back

1. Ryan Murphy – LAC – 1:48.81
2. Evgeny Rylov – ENS – 1:48.91
3. Mitch Larkin – CAC – 1:49.15
4. Radoslaw Kawecki – CAC – 1:49.52
5. Christian Diener – LON – 1:53.62
6. Tom Shields – LAC – 1:56.24
7. Max Litchfield – ENS – 1:57.54
8. Finlay Knox – LON – 2:02.07

Ryan Murphy came from behind to win the 200 back in a U.S. Open Record time of 1:48.81. Cali Condors’ Mitch Larkin was first out of the gates, leading at the 50, 100, and 150 walls. He was followed by Radoslaw Kawecki of the Condors for the first 100 and by Energy Standard’s Evgeny Rylov and Kawecki at the 150. Murphy, who had been in 4th place throughout the entire race, upped his tempo and powered past the leaders one by one, until he touched out Rylov by .10 for the win.

Women’s 200 back

1. Kathleen Baker – LAC – 2:01.22
2. Minna Atherton – LON – 2:01.59
3. Kylie Masse – CAC – 2:01.88
4. Emily Seebohm – ENS – 2:02.23
5. Amy Bilquist – LAC – 2:03.25
6. Hali Flickinger – CAC – 2:05.52
7. Mary-Sophie Harvey – ENS – 2:09.70
8. Boglarka Kapas – LON – 2:12.67

In an eerily similar performance to the one we just saw, Kathleen Baker won the 200 back for LA Current with a strong second half, depriving Minna Atherton of her fourth 200 back title for the season. It was London Roar’s Atherton who led throughout the first half of the race, although Baker was never far behind. Baker’s third 50 made the difference; she outsplit Atherton by .6 and held on to win by .37 with 2:01.22. Kylie Masse of Cali Condors had a strong final 50 as well, allowing her to pass Emily Seebohm of Energy Standard to take third place.

Even with Minna Atherton in the pool, it was Kathleen Baker who got the last roar with LA Current’s 2nd win and Atherton’s first event loss. The Roar are also showing some slight distress with their second point deduction due to time.

Men’s 50 free

1. Caeleb Dressel – CAC – 20.24
2. Florent Manaudou – ENS – 20.69
3. Kyle Chalmers – LON – 20.74
4. Ben Proud – ENS – 20.85
5. Nathan Adrian – LAC – 20.99
6. Michael Chadwick – LAC – 21.32
7. Bowe Becker – CAC – 21.33
8. Alex Graham – LON – 21.84

Caeleb Dressel, in his third race of the day, broke the World Record in the 50 free with a blazing 20.24. Coming to the wall in second place, in the lane next-door, was the previous World Record-holder, Florent Manaudou of Energy Standard (20.69).  Kyle Chalmers of London Roar kept ENS from going 2-3 by edging Ben Proud, 20.74 to 20.85.

Condor head coach Gregg Troy knows just how powerful of an asset Caeleb Dressel is as he set the second world record of the meet. But Energy Standard was the team who benefitted with Manaudou/Proud finishing 2-4. The Roar look to be in trouble with their 3rd-straight event having an 8th-place finish.

Women’s 50 free

1. Sarah Sjostrom – ENS – 23.43
2. Cate Campbell – LON – 23.45
3. Femke Heemskerk – ENS – 23.73
4. Beryl Gastaldello – LAC – 23.86
5. Olivia Smoliga – CAC – 24.04
6. Kasia Wasick – CAC – 24.07
7. Farida Osman – LAC – 24.37
8. Bronte Campbell – LON – 24.53

Despite a disappointing finish in the 100 fly, Energy Standard’s Sarah Sjostrom showed her grit with a 23.43 win in the 50 free over London Roar’s Cate Campbell. ENS picked up important points as Femke Heemskerk finished third with 23.73 over LA Current’s Beryl Gastaldello.

This event is a friendly reminder on just how Energy Standard is the only undefeated team in the ISL (thus far). Sarah Sjostrom showed true resilience and bounced back to take the narrow win in the 50 free over Cate Campbell of the Roar. Sjostrom and Dutch counterpart Heemskerk’s 1-3 finish has now given Energy Standard a comfy 9-point lead. The LA Current still remain quiet, and the Roar are once again showing some concern with yet another 8th-place finish.

Updated team scores:

1. Energy Standard 127
2. Cali Condors 118
3. LA Current 99
4. London Roar 98

Men’s 4×100 medley

1. ENS 2 – 3:21.24
2. LON 2 – 3:21.65
3. LON 1 – 3:22.16
4. CAC 1 – 3:23.61
5. LAC 1 – 3:23.70
6. LAC 2 – 3:23.92
7. ENS 1 – 3:24.09
8. CAC 2 – 3:26.52

Energy Standard worked their relay magic again, this time with Kliment Kolesnikov (49.59), Ilya Shymanovich (56.50), Chad le Clos (49.24), and Sergey Shevtsov (45.91) for a final time of 3:21.24. London Roar went 2-3 to move past LA Current in the team standings. LON’s Guilherme Guido (49.85), Adam Peaty (55.88), Vini Lanza (48.89), and Kyle Chalmers (46.03) were in first place heading into the freestyle but Shevtsov managed to hold off Chalmers, who had the fastest anchor, to get the win for ENS.

The London Roar made this medley relay an 8-person effort, out-scoring Energy Standard by 4 points and now just 6 points behind second place. After a thrilling start to the meet, the Cali Condors are now vulnerable to losing their top-2 position, especially after only finding 12 points from this event.

Updated team scores:

1. Energy Standard 149
2. Cali Condors 130
3. London Roar 124
4. LA Current 113

Women’s 200 free

1. Charlotte Bonnet – ENS – 1:52.88
2. Ariarne Titmus – CAC – 1:53.37
3. Holly Hibbott – LON – 1:53.54
4. Kayla Sanchez – ENS – 1:53.60
5. Leah Smith – LAC – 1:54.73
6. Emma McKeon – LON – 1:54.86
7. Mallory Commerford – CAC – 1:54.94
8. Katie McLaughlin – LAC – 1:57.27

Charlotte Bonnet pulled off a surprise win in the 200 free for Energy Standard. She was out very fast from lane 1, turning in 26.4 at the 50 and 55.17 at the 100. Ariarne Titmus moved from 4th at the 100 to 1st at the 150, outsplitting Bonnet by .45 on the third 50. But Bonnet still had gas left in the tank and she brought it home in 28.5 to win with 1:52.88. Her ENS teammate Kayla Sanchez was even faster over the final 50 meters, moving from 7th to 4th for more team points. London Roar’s Holly Hibbot, who had been in 2nd and in 3rd throughout the race, finished third with 1:53.54, .17 behind Titmus and .06 ahead of Sanchez.

Back from the break, Energy Standard is still proving to be an unstoppable force. After Sanchez won the Euro derby, it was teammate Bonnet who stayed on top of the crucial event over Condor Titmus and Roar’s Hibbott. Looking in the battle for second, the Condors still remain slightly ahead of the Roar while the LA Current are struggling in 4th.

Updated team scores:

1. Energy Standard 163
2. Cali Condors 139
3. London Roar 133
4. LA Current 118

Men’s 200 free

1. Alex Graham – LON – 1:41.74
2. Blake Pieroni – LAC – 1:41.96
3. Elijah Winnington – LON – 1:42.77
4. Andrew Seliskar – LAC – 1:43.20
5. Kacper Majchrzak – CAC – 1:43.40
6. Townley Haas – CAC – 1:43.48
7. Kregor Zirk – ENS – 1:43.77
8. Chad le Clos – ENS – 1:44.55

Alexander Graham made it 4-for-4 in 200 freestyle races this season as he won for London Roar in 1:41.74. Blake Pieroni had a last-minute surge but fell short and took second place with 1:41.96. Elijah Winnington‘s third-place finish moved the Roar past Cali Condors into second place in the team standings.

Alex Graham is now undefeated in the 200 free for the London Roar, with teammate Winnington taking 3rd-place. From this, they have now jumped the Condors for 2nd-place, but only by 2 points. The LA Current showed their valiant efforts with Pieroni’s last-minute surge for second and Seliskar taking 4th. Despite going 7-8, Energy Standard still holds a comfy lead.

Women’s 50 back

1. Olivia Smoliga – CAC – 25.89
2. Beryl Gastadello – LAC – 26.01
3. Georgia Davies – ENS – 26.47
4. Minna Atherton – LON – 26.50
5. Kylie Masse – CAC / Kathleen Baker – LAC – 26.63
6. –
7. Holly Barratt – LON – 26.64
8. Emily Seebohm – ENS – 26.75

Just when it looked like LA Current’s Beryl Gastaldello had it sewn up, Olivia Smoliga charged to the finish and won the 50 back for Cali Condors with 25.89. Gastaldello took second place in 26.01 with a comfortable margin over Georgia Davies of Energy Standard and Minna Atherton of London Roar.

Men’s 50 back

1. Guilherme Guido – LON – 22.77
2. Florent Manaudou – ENS – 23.08
3. Kliment Kolesnikov – ENS – 23.16
4. Ryan Murphy – LAC – 23.21
5. Matt Grevers – LAC – 23.23
6. Christian Diener – LON – 23.34
7. John Shebat – CAC – 23.70
8. Mitch Larkin – CAC – 23.92

London Roar’s Guilherme Guido won his fourth consecutive 50 back race in 22.77, just 25 minutes after his relay. Energy Standard scored valuable points with a 2-3 finish from Florent Manaudou (23.08) and Kliment Kolesnikov (23.16)

Guilherme Guido proves how vital of a team member he is for the London Roar, as they re-gained 2nd-place in the team totals. Energy Standard, however, maintains their dominant lead thanks to Manaudou/Kolesnikov’s 2-3 finish. The Condors did take a hit with Shebat/Larkin only managing a 7-8 finish.

Updated team scores:

1. Energy Standard 186
2. London Roar 167
3. Cali Condors 161.5
4. LA Current 149.5

Women’s 200 breast

1. Lilly King – CAC – 2:17.03
2. Kelsey Wog – CAC – 2:18.06
3. Anne Lazor – LAC – 2:19.07
4. Sydney Pickrem – LON – 2:19.80
5. Kierra Smith – ENS – 2:20.60
6. Jocelyn Ulyett – ENS – 2:20.63
7. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor – LON – 2:21.36
8. Bailey Andison – LAC – 2:27.83

Lilly King is now 11-for-11 in breaststroke races. Hanging back in third place for the first 150 meters, she upped her tempo over the last 50 meters to cruise to a 2:17.03 win for Cali Condors. That was her second U.S. Open Record of the night, after the 50m breast. CAC went 1-2 with second place going to Kelsey Wog in 2:18.06. Annie Lazor moved into third place over the last 50 meters, touching in 2:19.07.

Lilly King is now 11-for-11, becoming one of the most dominant swimmers in the ISL and a big asset for the Condors. Her and teammate Wog have now given the Condors their second-place spot back. Annie Lazor threw down a strong swim for LA, yet Andison’s dead-last finish did not give the event its full potential.

Men’s 200 breast

1. Nic Fink – CAC – 2:02.34
2. Will Licon – LAC – 2:02.42
3. Josh Prenot – LAC – 2:04.02
4. Kirill Prigoda – LON – 2:04.06
5. Anton Chupkov – ENS – 2:04.57
6. Matt Wilson – LON – 2:04.57
7. Ilya Shymanovich – ENS – 2:06.93
8. Andrew Wilson – CAC – 2:10.42

Nick Fink got another important win for Cali Condors as he came from behind over the final 50 meters to edge Will Licon, 2:02.34 to 2:02.42. Fink finished 0.01 off Cody Miller’s American Record. Licon and Josh Prenot (2:04.02) went 2-3 for LA Current.

Condor Nic Fink has now earned his second win of the day as he took down LA’s Licon/Prenot, just missing the American record by 0.01s. However, Condor teammate Wilson settled for 8th-place, which unfortunately did hurt the squad. Energy Standard’s Chupkov/Shymanovich were also up-scaled by the American breaststrokers with their 5-7 finish.

Men’s 4×100 free

1. LON 1 – 3:05.11
2. CAC 1 – 3:06.22
3. ENS 1 – 3:06.43
4. LAC 1 – 3:07.87
5. ENS 2 – 3:08.27
6. LAC 2 – 3:08.40
7. CAC 2 – 3:10.78
8. LON 2 – 3:10.81

London Roar stunned the field with a commanding win in the final event, the men’s 400 free relay. Cameron McEvoy (47.49), Kyle Chalmers (45.55), Yuri Kisil (46.68), and Duncan Scott (45.39) combined for 3:05.11 to win by a body length over Cali Condors’ Caeleb Dressel (45.75), Bowe Becker (46.72), Kacper Majchrzak (47.44), and Justin Ress (46.31). Third place went to Energy Standard’s simonas Bilis (47.18), Kliment Kolesnikov (46.82), Ivan Girev (46.63), and Ben Proud (45.80).

The London Roar continue to show that they still have unfinished business with a crucial win in this double-points event. However, their second relay only could manage 8th-place, making them score the same amount as Energy Standard. The Cali Condors have truly impressed as their 2nd-place finish has given them 30 more scored points over their pre-meet projection.

Day 1 team scores:

1. Energy Standard 219
2. Cali Condors 205.5
3. London Roar 202
4. LA Current 185.5

Top-10 MVP points after Day 1

1. Caeleb Dressel CAC – 52.0
2. Nic Fink CAC – 41.0
3. Sarah Sjostrom ENS – 37.0
4. Lilly King CAC – 36.0
5. Florent Manaudou ENS / Olivia Smoliga CAC – 32.0 (tie)
6. –
7. Ryan Murphy LAC – 31.0
8. Chad le Clos ENS / Duncan Scott LON – 29.0 (tie)
9. –
10. Kyle Chalmers LON / Beryl Gastaldello LAC 28.0 (tie)