We are nearly two weeks out from the October 16th start date of the International Swimming League’s second season. Last year’s inaugural season saw 8 teams race at 7 meets, with Energy Standard ultimately defeating the California Condors, London Roar, and Los Angeles Current at the Las Vegas final. The New York Breakers, DC Trident, Aqua Centurions, and Iron were the other four teams to take part in the season but were unsuccessful in making it to the finals.
For the 2020 season, two new teams were introduced for the league; the Toronto Titans and Tokyo Frog Kings. Earlier in September, each team’s roster was announced but since then, several athletes have pulled out and others have announced their signing.
A significant number of said withdrawals came from COVID-19 related travel restrictions affecting Australian athletes with mainly hit athletes representing London Roar, the New York Breakers, and the Cali Condors.
Following the loss of 5 Australians, the Cali Condors have bolstered their roster with some big names such as Allison Schmitt, Lia Neal, and Haley Anderson to fill out the women’s roster. Their most recent addition, Tomas Peribonio brought the men to 16, officially filling their roster for the season. The Breakers have also replaced their lost Aussies and have filled out their roster, with the Roar adding a few new names to bring the team to 31/32.
Also currently sitting with a full roster for the upcoming season, the Toronto Titans recently confirmed that several of their Canadian team members have not received full support from their national swimming federation for their involvement in the league. A recent meeting involved Swimming Canada presenting the Titans’ Canadian contingent with factual information regarding the COVID-19 risks associated with their participation in the league.
Joining the Condors, the Breakers, and the Titans with full rosters are Energy Standard, the Tokyo Frog Kings, DC Trident, and Iron. That makes it 7 teams with and 3 teams without a full roster.
Via the Breakers, who have signed 17 men and 15 women, we’ve learned that the rule on roster limits, while initially presented as 16 women and 16 men, seems to be enforced as 32 total swimmers.
Following the loss of five Italians from their roster and subsequent withdrawal of Simone Sabboni and Elena di Liddo, the Aqua Centurions have just added 9 names. This brings them to 15 men and 16 women and just one spot left to fill.
Check out each team’s roster as of October 3, 2020, down below, along with a recap on recent additions and withdrawals from the league.
Note: The following rosters are the most current, up to date versions made available by the ISL and are still subject to change over the next few weeks leading up the October 16th.
Energy Standard
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Chad Le Clos | RSA | Sarah Sjostrom | SWE |
| Florent Manaudou | FRA | Femke Heemskerk | NED |
| Max Litchfield | GBR | Breeja Larson | USA |
| Andrius Sidlauskas | LTU | Imogen Clark | GBR |
| Evgeny Rylov | RUS | Zsuzsanna Jakabos | HUN |
| Felipe Lima | BRA | Pernille Blume | DEN |
| Kregor Zirk | EST | Siobhan Haughey | HKG |
| Ben Proud | GBR | Georgia Davies | GBR |
| Kliment Kolesnikov | RUS | Viktoriya Gunes | TUR |
| Danas Rapsys | LTU | Anastasiya Shkurdai | BLR |
| Sergey Shevtsov | UKR | Mary-Sophie Harvey | CAN |
| Maxim Stupin | RUS | Emily Seebohm | AUS |
| Simonas Bilis | LTU | Tamara van Vliet | NED |
| Ilya Shymanovich | BLR | Madeline Banic | USA |
| Matt Grevers | USA | Lucy Hope | GBR |
| Andrei Zhilkin | RUS | Benedetta Pilato | ITA |
Additions
- Benedetta Pilato
Spots To Be Filled: 0
Aqua Centurions
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Mykhailo Romanchuk | UKR | Federica Pellegrini | ITA |
| Fabio Scozzoli | ITA | Martina Carraro | ITA |
| Sebastian Szabo | HUN | Etienne Pires de Medeiros | BRA |
| Alessandro Miressi | ITA | Valentine Dumont | BEL |
| Matteo Rivolta | ITA | Lidon Munoz del Campo | ESP |
| Nicolo Martinenghi | ITA | Arianna Castiglioni | ITA |
| Apostolos Papastamos | GRE | Katrina Konopka Reid | USA |
| Marcelo Chierighini | BRA | Larissa Martins de Oliveira | BRA |
| Leonardo Gomes De Deus | BRA | Katalin Burian | HUN |
| Gabriel Santos Da Silva | BRA | Haley Black | CAN |
| Pedro Spajari | BRA | Kathryn Greenslade | GBR |
| Breno Martins Correia | BRA | Stefania Pirozzi | ITA |
| Luiz Altamir Melo | BRA | Alexandra Touretski | SUI |
| Philip Heintz | GER | Theodora Drakou | GRE |
| Fabio Santi | BRA | Tain Bruce | GBR |
| Evelyn Verraszto | HUN |
Additions
- Mykhailo Romanchuk
- Valentine Dumont
- Haley Black
- Fabio Santi
- Apostolos Papastamos
- Kathryn Greenslade
- Katalin Burian
- Stefania Pirozzi
- Alexandra Touretski
- Theodora Drakou
- Tain Bruce
- Evelyn Verraszto
Withdrawals
- Ilaria Bianchi
- Silvia Scalia
- Silvia di Pietro
- Elena Di Liddo
- Sara Franceshi
- Matteo Ciampi
- Simone Sabbioni
Spots To Be Filled: 1
Cali Condors
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Townley Haas | USA | Allison Schmitt | USA |
| Tate Jackson | USA | Kelsi Dahlia | USA |
| Kacper Majchrzak | POL | Molly Hannis | USA |
| Radoslaw Kawecki | POL | Hali Flickinger | USA |
| Mark Szaranek | GBR | Natalie Hinds | USA |
| Tomas Peribonio | ECU | Olivia Smoliga | USA |
| Justin Ress | USA | Melanie Margalis | USA |
| Khader Baqlah | JOR | Lilly King | USA |
| Coleman Stewart | USA | Veronica Burchill | USA |
| Caeleb Dressel | USA | Meghan Small | USA |
| Bowe Becker | USA | Erika Brown | USA |
| Kevin Cordes | USA | Beata Nelson | USA |
| Nic Fink | USA | Sherridon Dressel | USA |
| Marcin Cieslak | POL | Lia Neal | USA |
| Eddie Wang | TPE | Kelly Fertel | USA |
| Gunnar Bentz | USA | Haley Anderson | USA |
Additions
- Bowe Becker
- Khader Baqlah
- Tomas Peribonio
- Haley Anderson
- Lia Neal
- Allison Schmitt
Withdrawals
- Clyde Lewis
- Jack Cartwright
- Mitch Larkin
- Ariarne Titmus
- Meg Harris
- Mallory Comerford
Spots To Be Filled: 0
DC Trident
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Andrew Loy | USA | Emma Barksdale | USA |
| Conner McHugh | USA | Remedy Rule | PHI |
| Matheus Santana | BRA | Ting Wen Quah | SGP |
| Zach Apple | USA | Leah Gingrich | USA |
| Zach Harting | USA | Kathrin Demler | GER |
| Zane Grothe | USA | Miranda Tucker | USA |
| Robert Howard | USA | Linnea Mack | USA |
| Mark Nikolaev | RUS | Amy Bilquist | USA |
| Mohamed Samy | EGY | Ky-Lee Perry | USA |
| Jacob Pebley | USA | Margo Geer | USA |
| Velimir Stjepanovic | SRB | Lindsey Kozelsky | USA |
| Meiron Cheruti | ISR | Bethany Galat | USA |
| Giles Smith | USA | Ali Galyer | NZL |
| Abrahm Devine | USA | Bailey Andison | CAN |
| Ian Finnerty | USA | Madison Kennedy | USA |
| Thomas Cope | USA | Rozaliya Nasretdinova | RSA |
Additions
- Leah Gingrich
- Thomas Cope
- Rozaliya Nasretdinova
Withdrawals
- Leiston Pickett
- Tristan Hollard
Spots To Be Filled: 1
Tokyo Frog Kings
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Daiya Seto | JPN | Yui Ohashi | JPN |
| Shinri Shioura | JPN | Reona Aoki | JPN |
| Markus Thormeyer | CAN | Leah Smith | USA |
| Vlad Morozov | RUS | Ai Soma | JPN |
| Yasuhiro Koseki | JPN | Catherine Deloof | USA |
| Katsuhiro Matsumoto | JPN | Simona Kubova | CZE |
| Ryosuke Irie | JPN | Anna Ntountounaki | GRE |
| Kosuke Hagino | JPN | Aya Sato | JPN |
| Bruno Fratus | BRA | Chihiro Igarashi | JPN |
| Kosuke Matsui | JPN | Miho Teramura | JPN |
| Naoki Mizunuma | JPN | Sakiko Shimizu | JPN |
| Takeshi Kawamoto | JPN | Tomomi Aoki | JPN |
| Cristian Quintero | VEN | Runa Imai | JPN |
| Shoma Sato | JPN | Rio Shirai | JPN |
| Yuki Kobori | JPN | Natsumi Sakai | JPN |
| Bradley Tandy | RSA | Suzuka Hasegawa | JPN |
Additions
- Tomomi Aoki
- Brad Tandy
Spots To Be Filled: 0
Toronto Titans
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Michael Chadwick | USA | Tessa Cielupcha | CAN |
| Mack Darragh | CAN | Michelle Coleman | SWE |
| Sergey Fesikov | RUS | Louise Hansson | SWE |
| Andriy Govorov | UKR | Anika Apostalon | USA |
| Brent Hayden | CAN | Kylie Masse | CAN |
| Yuri Kisil | CAN | Julie Meynen | LUX |
| Finlay Knox | CAN | Lisa Bratton | USA |
| Daniil Pasynkov | RUS | Emily Overholt | CAN |
| Anton McKee | ISL | Jocelyn Ulyett | GBR |
| Blake Pieroni | USA | Rebecca Smith | CAN |
| Cole Pratt | CAN | Kelsey Wog | CAN |
| Shane Ryan | IRL | Claire Fisch | USA |
| Alexander Krasnykh | RUS | Anna Egorova | RUS |
| Jay Lelliot | GBR | Jhennifer Alves Conceicao | BRA |
| Erik Persson | SWE | Candice Hall | GBR |
| Eli Wall | CAN | Tayla Lovemore | RSA |
Additions
- Jhennifer Alves Conceicao
- Candice Hall
- Eli Wall
- Daniil Pasynkov
Withdrawals
- Anastasia Fesikova
- Alberto Razzetti
Spots To Be Filled: 0
Iron
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Robert Glinta | ROU | Katinka Hosszú | HUN |
| Maxim Lobanovszkij | HUN | Veronika Andrushenko | RUS |
| Kristof Milak | HUN | Jenna Laukkanen | FIN |
| Ross Murdoch | GBR | Caroline Pilhatsch | AUT |
| Yakov Toumarkin | ISR | Valerie Van Roon | NED |
| Guilherme Basseto | BRA | Melanie Henique | FRA |
| Leonardo Santos | BRA | Mireia Belmonte | ESP |
| Artyom Machekin | BLR | Maria Ugolkova | SUI |
| Ramon Klenz | GER | Isabella Hindley | GBR |
| Thom de Boer | NED | Daryna Zevina | UKR |
| Nicholas Santos | BRA | Daria K. Ustinova | RUS |
| Clement Mignon | FRA | Ranomi Kromowidjojo | NED |
| Marco Orsi | ITA | Emilie Beckmann | DEN |
| Emre Sakci | TUR | Ida Hulkko | FIN |
| David Verraszto | HUN | Danica Ludlow | CAN |
| Oussama Sahnoune | ALG | Alina Zmushka | BLR |
Additions
- Ida Hulkko
- Danica Ludlow
- Alina Zamushka
Withdrawals
- Tatjana Schoenmaker
- Jessica Hansen
Spots To Be Filled: 0
London Roar
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Adam Peaty | GBR | Emily Large | GBR |
| Amaury Leveaux | FRA | Harriet West | GBR |
| James Guy | GBR | Kathleen Dawson | GBR |
| Tom Dean | GBR | Freya Anderson | GBR |
| Darragh Greene | IRL | Annie Lazor | USA |
| Elliot Clogg | GBR | Anna Hopkin | GBR |
| Scott McLay | GBR | Siobhan-Marie O’Connor | GBR |
| Luke Greenbank | GBR | Sydney Pickrem | CAN |
| Marius Kusch | GER | Mariia Kameneva | RUS |
| Kirill Prigoda | RUS | Marie Wattel | FRA |
| Vini Lanza | BRA | Aimee Willmott | GBR |
| Guido Guilherme | BRA | Holly Hibbott | GBR |
| Christian Diener | GER | Alia Atkinson | JAM |
| Andreas Vazaios | GRE | Kira Toussaint | NED |
| Duncan Scott | GBR | ||
| Mikhail Vekovishchev | RUS |
Additions
- Emily Large
- Harriet West
- Kathleen Dawson
- Amaury Leveaux
- Elliot Clogg
- Scott McLay
- Darragh Greene
Withdrawals
- Minna Atherton
- Emma McKeon
- Cate Campbell
- Bronte Campbell
- Holly Barratt
- Kyle Chalmers
- Elijah Winnington
- Matthew Wilson
- Alex Graham
Spots To Be Filled: 2
LA Current
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Dylan Carter | TTO | Abbey Weitzeil | USA |
| Felipe Silva Franca | BRA | Andi Murez | ISR |
| Fernando Scheffer | BRA | Beryl Gastaldello | FRA |
| Kristian Gkolomeev | GRE | Katie Mclaughlin | USA |
| Andrew Seliskar | USA | Kendyl Stewart | USA |
| Santiago Grassi | ARG | Kierra Smith | CAN |
| Tom Shields | USA | Madison Wilson* | AUS |
| Zane Waddell | RSA | Makayla Sargent | USA |
| Josh Prenot | USA | Anastasia Gorbenko | ISR |
| Jacob Heidtmann | GER | Julia Sebastian | ARG |
| Tomoe Hvas | NOR | Alexandra Deloof | USA |
| Will Licon | USA | Helena Gasson | NZL |
| Ryan Murphy | USA | Alyssa Marsh | USA |
| Maxime Rooney | USA | Aly Tetzloff | USA |
| Marco Ferreira | BRA | Claire Rasmus | USA |
| Apostolos Christou | GRE |
*As of now, Australian Madi Wilson will not compete in Budapest but remains on the roster in case a solution is found that allows her to compete.
Additions
- Helena Gasson
- Claire Rasmus
- Apostolos Christou
Withdrawals
- Ella Eastin
Spots To Be Filled: 2
New York Breakers
| MEN | COUNTRY | WOMEN | COUNTRY |
| Michael Andrew | USA | Kasia Wasick | POL |
| Marco Koch | GER | Emily Escobedo | USA |
| Chris Reid | RSA | Arina Surkova | RUS |
| Brendon Smith | GBR | Jeanette Ottesen | DEN |
| Brandonn Almeida | BRA | Boglarka Kapas | HUN |
| Felix Auboeck | AUT | Sarah Vasey | GBR |
| James Wilby | GBR | Signe Bro | DEN |
| Adam Telegdy | HUN | Abbie Wood | GBR |
| Joe Litchfield | GBR | Tevyn Waddell | USA |
| Jan Switkowski | POL | Svetlana Chimrova | RUS |
| Matthew Richards | GBR | Daria S. Ustinova | RUS |
| Pieter Timmers | BEL | Ajna Kesely | HUN |
| Damian Wierling | GER | Molly Renshaw | GBR |
| Michal Poprawa | POL | Chloe Golding | GBR |
| Lewis Clareburt | NZL | Alicja Tchorz | POL |
| Jakub Skierka | POL | ||
| Jacob Whittle | GBR |
Note: So far, the Breakers are the only team to have 17 men and 15 women to fill their 32-athlete roster quota.
Additions
- Molly Renshaw (GBR)
- Chloe Golding (GBR)
- Alicia Tchorz (POL)
- Michal Poprawa (POL)
- Lewis Clareburt (NZL)
- Jakub Skierka (POL)
Withdrawals
- Abbey Harkin
- Meg Bailey
- Mollie O’Callaghan
- Mikkayla Sheridan
- Matthew Temple
- Cameron McEvoy
Spots To Be Filled: 0
The breakers only have 16 men – you’ve listed Jacob Whittle twice (he was also an addition), so they still have a ladies spot to fill
In actuality, somehow on Ben’s list, he had replaced Brendon Smith with Jacob Whittle.
Brendon Smith (an Australian) is still planning to compete. I’ve fixed that above. So the Breakers do, in fact, have 17 men and 15 women.
Any word on László Cseh?
How is it that Emily Seebohm (Energy Standard) is on the list?
Unless we see a complete 180 of her 2019, her chances of making the Tokyo Olympic team aren’t great given the progression of both Atherton & McKeown Jr. She may no longer have direct SA funding or, if so, its level is such that any money she makes on “pro circuits” more than offsets losing it. Given she has also had a history of doing the full FINA World Cup series over recent years, a decision to “chase the money” has some credence.
Strongest to Weakest imo:
Men:
Women:
Therefore if combine the above rankings into 1 you get:
The biggest spot I disagree with you on is that I think you’ve got Aqua a bit high, especially the women.
The addition of Szabo probably helps soften the loss of Grinev on the men’s side, and I think, for example, Chierighini and Spajari have more upside than they showed last year, but losing Freya Anderson, Di Liddo, Panziera…
I think you’ve got both Aqua teams about 1 spot too high. Maybe 2 on the men’s side.
The Condors aren’t that deep (who is this season, beyond ES?). But, the amount of points that Dressel is going to steal in this new format is unreal. If he starts stealing points in skins races too…
I mean, as a solo contributor… Read more »
Yeah but I didn’t want to base Cali’s performance solely on Dressel (Forgot about the new jackpot times), they do lack depth, I don’t know much about Stewart.. Honestly I think aqua are underestimated:
they have some strong fly and freestylers, Martinenghi and Scozzoli for breaststroke, and Heintz for IM. They just seem to lack backstrokers
As for the women, at first it doesn’t look great, but if you break it down per event they won’t be that bad:
Sprint free – Oliveira and Medeiros
distance free – Pellegrini
sprint back – Medeiros and Burian
2Back – Burian and Greenslade
breast – Carraro and Castiglinoli
fly – Black
IM – Grangeon
Energy standard, London roar definitely. Condors are way better than aqua Centaurions just because of Dressel relays and skins. And three way tie for 5th?
I just added the rankings that I had for male and female. Not actually how it would end up. But yes, Dressel should make Cali jump ahead of Aqua
On the men’s side I think I agree with your top 3. For the women I think you have Toronto and Aqua centurions too high and Cali Condors and Frog Kings too low. The really interesting thing is Cali Condors is all USA women and I think it will show how well NCAA swim experience is in this format. Or maybe it will be the opposite but its something to watch for.
I’m also thinking you’re a bit low on the Cali condor women, especially in the new system that overvalues wins. Smoliga pulled multiple wins in 50/100 back and one of her biggest competitors is out (Atherton) and now they can test out Beata in SCM as a #2. Lily King was undefeated and Molly Hannis was an unsung hero often in the 50/100 breast, which also gives them greater medley relay flexibility. Mel Margalis also had multiple wins in the IMs. The combo of Dahlia and Flickinger gives you shots at wins in the fly races as well. They’re definitely weaker in the free events (except maybe the 400 where Margalis and Flickinger have been surprisingly competitive during ISL), but… Read more »
You definitely have the Frog King women too low. Runa Imai is the world silver medalist in the 100 IM, Yui Ohashi is the best IMmer in the world not named Katinka, Reona Aoki is a consistent 1:06 breaststroker, and Hasegawa just popped a 200 fly PB that would have won Worlds. They’re going to be a lot better than people think.
Holly Barratt is listed as an addition for Roar.
Thank you ! Fixed it.