ISL Match Three Notes: Electric Current Edge Frog Kings Thanks To Gastaldello And Mr Money

Photo Courtesy: MIKE LEWIS / ISL

The third match of the International Swimming League reached a thrilling conclusion as LA Current edged out debutants Tokyo Frog Kings thanks to their efforts in the skins.

The Japanese team led by 27 points going into the skins – a series of back-to-back knockout races with the two remaining swimmers going head to head in the final.

However, Beryl Gastaldello and Abbey Weitzeil finished 1-2 for the Current in the women’s skins with freestyle the stroke of choice as they overhauled the Frog Kings, who did not get a swimmer past the first round.

Ryan Murphy then guaranteed the win by making the men’s skins final, the Current choosing backstroke, and edged out Ryosuke Irie as Current won by 29 points.

Gastaldello And Murphy Sweep All Before Them

Gastaldello went seven for seven over two days and, with Weitzeil, propelled LA Current into the lead with victory in the skins as the pair claimed 55 points between them.

The Frenchwoman lay on the floor with her legs on a chair, a towel covering her face, in the moments ahead of the final before she came home to take the win in 24.69.

Gastaldello paced her skins perfectly. She was third in the first race in 24.15 when Michelle Coleman streaked to 23.90 and the Tokyo pair finished joint fifth, locked out by 0.01 seconds. She was second through to the final in 24.64 and then enjoyed such a fine performance in the final women’s race of the day.

It all adds up to a swimmer confident in her own experience and ability, conserving energy and knowing what she needs to do to get through and executing her subsequent game plan.

The 2018 double European relay champion was match MVP with 78pts ahead of team-mates Murphy (60.5) and Weitzeil (40.5).

Gastaldello then moved on to poolside, pulling on an LA Current mask, to cheer on her team-mates with victory in their grasp.

Murphy won the first two rounds in 22.83 and 22.61 and set up a head to head with Ryosuke Irie, he of the bewitching stroke and winner of the 100m ahead of Shane Ryan and the American.

The pair exchanged a high-five across the lane ropes with the match result a formality and Dave Marsh, the Current coach, said: “very nice baby – now just do the business.”

Murphy was ahead at halfway only for Irie to make inroads down the second 25 but it was the American who got the touch in 24.71, 0.08 secs ahead of his opponent who clocked 24.79.

Marsh told Eurosport:

“We are thrilled. We needed this – these next weeks will be really tough. Tokyo are really good.

“It was great we had the skins – Murph is just Mr Money so it’s a good night.”

Tokyo Frog Kings A Welcome Addition

Whatever coach Dave Salo and general manager Kosuke Kitajima said ahead of day two certainly worked.

The Frog Kings came into the session 14.5 points behind Current and 39.5 points ahead of Toronto Titans with Aqua Centurions fourth in 156.

Suzuka Hasegawa led the way in the 200 fly with a new ISL record of 2:03.12 in the 200 fly to propel the Frog Kings into the lead.

It was a performance of some dominance as she finished 2.95 seconds ahead of teammate Sakiko Shimizu in a Tokyo one-two and brought her 10 extra points.

She also cut 0.69 from the previous ISL record of 2:03.81 held by Hali Flickinger of Cali Condors as Tokyo took a five-point lead.

It was one of eight Frog Kings wins on Sunday which included consecutive victories by Irie in the 100 back, Runa Imai (women’s 100 IM) and Vlad Morozov (men’s 100 IM).

But elite is all about fine margins and the women’s skins were evidence of that with Imai and Chihiro Igarashi locked out of the second round by 0.01. The finest of fine margins.

A very welcome sight was the performance of Kosuke Hagino, the 400IM Olympic champion who missed a large chunk of the 2019 season citing a lack of motivation.

Back in the water for the longest race in the ISL programme – along with the 400 free – Hagino’s lead was so great that at one point he disappeared from the Eurosport picture as he won in 4:02.58.

In second – 2.31secs behind – was his team-mate Tomoru Honda: notable were their differing reactions. Hagino a nod and smile of satisfaction with a hand on his heart while Honda’s megawatt smile would have been enough to power the lighting at the Duna Arena.

Good news for all swimming fans that Hagino is once more motivated and on form with a home Olympics months hence.

Not present was Daiya Seto – serving a ban imposed by the Japan Swimming Federation following an extra-marital affair.

Domination No Good For Competition

The second day had started with 54 points separating Current, the Frog Kings and Toronto in third with Aqua Centurions a distant fourth.

It is essential for the integrity of any competition that there be depth and quality across the board.

Competition thrives on not knowing the destination of the victor’s trophy until those final moments, the fine margins, upsets, extraordinary performances in the water, on the track or on the football field.

Across many sports we see the domination by a small coterie of teams or individuals. Many of these are global brands where fans expect and demand victory: supporting that particular team in all probability does not come down to growing close to the team’s home ground, backing them through thick and thin. Or thin and thinner in some cases.

When Leicester City won the English Premier League in 2016 it was a huge shock: the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and City and Tottenham falling by the wayside.

And it was so welcomed: football fans across Britain and the world were euphoric. The so-called little man had usurped the big boys and taken the ultimate prize.

It broke the stranglehold but it also provided inspiration. Even those who do not normally take interest in football celebrated. Good for them, they said.

We need that breathlessness of unpredictable competition. Who does it serve to have the same teams dominant?

Aqua finished fourth on Sunday, 141 points behind Toronto Titans. They were fourth in their opening match too – albeit only 12 adrift of DC Trident. London Roar enjoyed a crushing win there, and Cali Condors have made clear their intentions too.

Alessandro Miressi tried to give the Centurions some momentum with victory in the 100 free on Sunday with his teammate Marcelo Chierighini in third in the opening men’s race but after that it was all about the top two.

It was a great tussle between Current and Tokyo with everything that makes sport so compelling.

But who will we see in the final?

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