Michael Andrew in 5 Events on Day 1 of ISL Meet in Lewisville

2019 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE: LEWISVILLE (GROUP B, MATCH 1)

• Saturday, October 19 – Saturday, October 20, 2019
• 2:00 U.S. Central Time
• The LISD Westside Aquatic Center – Lewisville, TX
• Short Course Meters (SCM) format
• Group B: Iron, LA Current, London Roar, New York Breakers
• Live stream, event schedule & viewer’s guide
• Day 1 preliminary start lists

Start lists for the first day of the International Swimming League (ISL) stop in Lewisville, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, have been revealed, giving a preliminary lineup of who will be swimming which races. Teams can change their lineups during the 2 session breaks and then before day 2 of the meet.

While this is the 3rd meet of the upstart league, it is the first for the 4 participating teams: the LA Current, New York Breakers, London Roar, and Iron.

Among the stars, some are swimming big event lineups on day 1, while others have more limited entries. Michael Andrew and Vlad Morozov,  two sprint stars that should be intensely valuable in this format given their versatility and demonstrated ability for speed on short rests and year-round, each have big lineups. For Morozov, of Iron, day 1 will see 4 races: the 50 free, 50 breast, as the anchor of the team’s 400 medley relay, and as the anchor of the men’s 400 free relay.

Andrew, meanwhile, day 1 will see 5 entries: the 100 fly, 50 breast, 50 fly, the breaststroke leg of a medley relay, and the 3rd leg of a 400 free relay. At the 2018 US Nationals, Andrew finished of the top 4 in 3 different races in the same night, so he’s no stranger to these kinds of big schedules. Andrew’s specific training cycle, USRPT, should make him among the most valuable swimmers in this format.

Other highlight schedules:

• Iron’s banner-bearer Katinka Hosszu was once a poster as the most versatile swimmer in the world, sometimes swimming every event in a meet. That strategy has diminished over the last 18 months, however, and on day 1 of the ISL she’ll swim a tough schedule with 1 event in each session, but not the same maniacal lineups she used to use: her entries are the 50 back, 200 back, and 400 IM. That means no relays for Hosszu on day 1.
• The Campbell sisters, representing the London Roar, each have just 2 events on day 1: the 50 freestyle individually, and the 400 free relay. The Roar have, however, split the two in to different 400 free relays, going for 2 high placing relays rather than what looks like it would be a sure win. This light event schedule could set them up for a big performance in the skins races on Sunday, where a 1-2 finish could win the whole meet for the team.
• Kristof Milak of Iron has 4 entries. He broke Michael Phelps’ 200 fly World Record this summer, and on day 1 will swim the 100 fly, 200 free, 400 free relay, and fly on the 400 medley relay. He said that he’s been focusing on races besides the 200 fly after his World Record swim, so this could be the day for him to show how far he reaches.
• Kathleen Baker, who is a former backstroke World Record holder and also swims a lot of backstroke internationally, is entered in the 5o breaststroke in addition to the 200 back. She was a very high-level breaststroker coming out of high school, swimming 59.37 in the 100 yard breaststroke before graduating high school. She hasn’t done much since, but still will have some training because of her IM abilities. She’s not entered in the 50 back – the Current will use Amy Bilquist and Beryl Gastaldello there instead.
• Leah Smith, who was on the roster sent by the LA Current, is not entered in any day 1 events.