With just over 3 weeks remaining until the first meets, International Swimming League, teams are filling their last few roster spots for the inaugural 2019 season. Spanish swimmer Alba Vazquez will be joining Rome-based team Aqua Centurions, captained by Italian two-time Olympic medalist Federica Pellegrini.
In July at the European Junior Championships, the 17-year-old snagged the gold medal in the women’s 400 IM in Championship Record fashion, clocking a time of 4:40.64 to take down the 4:40.88 record from 2009 previously held by Ireland’s Grainne Murphy.
Then, in late August, Vazquez broke the world junior record holder in the women’s 400 IM during the World Junior Swimming Championships that took place in Budapest.
Vazquez’s WJR time of 4:38.53 would have earned her 7th place in the women’s 400m IM final in Gwangju this year, finishing ahead of Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Jakabos’ 4:39.15 and France’s Fantine Lesaffre’s 4:39.68. Vazquez’s world-record-time also serves as the Olympic A Cut in the women’s event for next year’s Olympics.
During the same World Junior Championship meet, Vazquez also claimed the silver medal in the 200 IM after clocking a time of 2:13.43.
The 17-year-old’s performances have sparked Federica Pellegrini‘s attention, resulting in Vazquez receiving an invitation to join the Rome-based Aqua Centurions for the International Swimming League’s inaugural season.
Vazquez becomes the fourth Spaniard to sign for ISL’s inaugural season, joining Mireia Belmonte, Jessica Vall, and soon-to-be teammate Lidon Muñoz.
Vazquez’s Lifetime Bests:
| SCM | LCM | |
| 400 free | 4:27.79 | 4:20.81 |
| 200 breast | 2:30.54 | 2:27.65 |
| 200 IM | 2:20.92 | 2:13.43 |
| 400 IM | 4:38.53 |
Her addition to the Centurions’ roster brings the team up to 29 announced swimmers: 15 men and 14 women. The Aqua Centurions will kick off their 2019 ISL season in Indianapolis from October 4th-5th. The biggest remaining ‘free agent’ is another American 23-year old, Simone Manuel. She is the defending Olympic and World Champion in the 100 free and also thee defending World Champion in the 50 free in long course.
- Luiz Altamir Melo
- Ilaria Bianchi
- Georgia Bohl
- Martina Carraro
- Apostolos Christou
- Piero Codia
- Santo Condorelli
- Breno Correia
- Laszlo Cseh
- Ilaria Cusinato
- Gabriele Detti
- Elena Di Liddo
- Silvia Di Pietro
- Luca Dotto
- Kristian Gkolomeev
- Philip Heintz
- Franziska Hentke
- Sarah Köhler
- Nicolo Martinenghi
- Kaylee McKeown
- Alessandro Miressi
- Lidon Muñoz
- Larissa Oliveira
- Margherita Panziera
- Federica Pellegrini
- Matteo Rivolta
- Simone Sabbioni
- Fabio Scozzoli
- Alba Vazquez
Great signing for the Aqua Centurions. Some really nice potential here. I wonder if some of the rosters have left spots open until after junior worlds so they can get the best of the junior talent.