2020 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE FINAL – DAY 2
- Saturday, November 21: 2:00PM – 4:00PM CET (8 AM – 10 AM U.S. Eastern, 10 PM – 12 AM Japan)
- Sunday, November 22: 6:00PM – 8:00PM CET (12 PM – 2 PM U.S. Eastern, 2 AM – 4 AM Monday J+1 Japan)
- Duna Arena – Budapest, Hungary
- Short Course Meters (SCM) format
- ISL Technical Handbook
- 2020 ISL Scoring Format
- 2020 ISL Prize Money and Bonuses
- How To Watch
- Teams: Energy Standard / Cali Condors / London Roar / LA Current
- Day 2 Start Lists
- Day 1 Full Results
- Omega Results
A staggering eight American Records fell during the second day of the International Swimming League’s Grand Final in Budapest, and the one that had stood the longest fell at the hands of Cali Condor Townley Haas.
Haas, 23, threw down a time of 1:40.49 in the men’s 200 freestyle, demolishing Ryan Lochte‘s American Record of 1:41.08 set back at the 2010 Short Course World Championships in Dubai.
Lochte won back-to-back SC World titles in the event in 2010 and 2012, and was also the long course world champion in 2011. The two swimmers actually teamed up to win Olympic gold on the American men’s 4×200 free relay at the 2016 Games in Rio.
Split Comparison
Haas’ aggression on the opening 100, something we’ve seen from him time and time again in the NCAA, was the key in taking out Lochte’s record.
| Lochte, 2010 | Haas, 2020 |
| 24.02 | 23.46 |
| 25.78 (49.80) | 25.54 (49.00) |
| 25.66 (1:15.46) | 25.83 (1:14.83) |
| 25.62 (1:41.08) | 25.66 (1:40.49) |
Haas had entered the ISL season having never broken 1:43 in the SCM event, holding a best of 1:43.48 from last season’s final. He went faster than that in all five of his 200 free swims inside the bubble, with his fastest performance prior to the final being a 1:41.58 in Match 8.
Compared to that swim, the biggest difference for Haas came on the last 50, closing almost seven-tenths of a second quicker.
Split Comparison
| Haas, ISL Match 8 | Haas, ISL Final |
| 23.72 | 23.46 |
| 25.69 (49.41) | 25.54 (49.00) |
| 25.84 (1:15.25) | 25.83 (1:14.83) |
| 26.33 (1:41.58) | 25.66 (1:40.49) |
The former Texas Longhorn was locked in a tight battle with London Roar stalwart Duncan Scott throughout the entirety of the race. Despite Haas being faster on the first and last 50s, Scott’s middle 100 earned him the win, setting a new British Record in 1:40.25.
Those swims rocketed Scott and Haas up to #4 and #5 all-time in the event, not to mention second and third overall in a textile suit.
All-Time Performers, Men’s 200 Freestyle (SCM)
| Rank | Swimmer | Time | Year |
| 1 | Paul Biedermann (GER) | 1:39.37 | 2009 |
| 2 | Yannick Agnel (FRA) | 1:39.70 | 2012 |
| 3 | Danila Izotov (RUS) | 1:40.08 | 2009 |
| 4 | Duncan Scott (GBR) | 1:40.25 | 2020 |
| 5 | Townley Haas (USA) | 1:40.49 | 2020 |
Haas is also the former American Record holder in the short course yard 200 freestyle, having gone 1:29.50 at the 2018 NCAA Championships. That mark has since been lowered by Dean Farris, who clocked 1:29.15 swimming for Harvard at the 2019 edition of the meet.
Blake Pieroni, who was the first man ever under 1:30 in yards, had come incredibly close to breaking Lochte’s SCM record in 2018, going 1:41.15 on the FINA World Cup circuit.
2012 Agnel was such a monster.
Seeing these times really makes me wish NCAA was in a SCM format. It would really give a better sense of where our swimmers stack up on the International level, and still give good opportunity to swimmers who are better build for speed and shorter pools. Clearly it’s been an impressive bout of swimming going on, but I also think it shows how rarely we (USA) compete SCM based on the record drops.
Absolutely. It’s time to switch and give the elite ncaa swimmers a chance to break wotld records!
great for Haas…also great for Scott. Is it just me who thinks Scott will win gold in Tokyo in this event? or am i just absolutely crazy (my basis: his 46.1 split from last year, his 1:44 flat start last year, his great swims this year in ISL, and his endurance-telling prowess in the 400 IM)
Scott is one of three active swimmers under the age of 35 to have been 1:44 dead start.
His SCM times suggest that he’s certainly trending faster too.
“Active swimmers under the age of 35” – just had to exclude Lochte like that. xD
Can we just pause for a second and relish how incredible across all courses peak Lochte was?
What more can you say about a man with high pain for tolerance?
Who was doubting it?
And reflect on how incredible Agnel’s peak was
1.39, 3.32, 7.29 all at the same meet (not sure what his other results were but these are National, World and European records)
3:32 is cartoonishly fast.
7:29 is the former European record now (at least it should be, if those exhibition 800 free times counted).
Congrats to Townley Haas for winning the 200 free! #AmericaFirst #RowdyorBust
Townley Haas broke the American record, he was second to Duncan Scott.
So? You’d have thought Hass won going by the commentary.
Was surprised at how far ahead Scott and Haas were ahead of Rapsys. Could spell trouble for Rapsys in Tokyo
LoL
Wait for Rapsys tapper
He stopped for a drink at the 150
Eh, maybe. He could be a better lcm swimmer. He certainly will have competition!
Sounds like a 1:44 is coming
One would hope so by now. Stuck on 1:45 or worse for going on 5 years.
So is virtually the entire world since London. 1:45 is an extraordinarily competitive time, even if not earth-shattering.