Olé: Roar’s Belmonte, Peaty, Guy & Iron’s Verraszto Set For Swim League Debuts; Sister Skins Are On

Mireia Belmonte - Photo Courtesy: Joao Marc Bosch

Roar’s Adam Peaty, Mireia Belmonte, James Guy & Iron’s David Verraszto make International Swimming League Debuts
Sister Skins Are On as Cate and Bronte Campbell square up to Ranomi Kromowidjojo

Olympic champions Mireia Belmonte and Adam Peaty, as well asEuropean champions James Guy and David Verraszto will make their International Swimming League debuts in Budapest this weekend.

The fourth round of the inaugural season of the pioneering global Pro-Team tour will also deliver the the much anticipated Sisters Skins in the shape of Cate and Bronte Campbell, of London Roar Aussie sorority of sprint.

In Dallas last week, Ranomi Kromowidjojo pumped Iron with a Skins win over Emma McKeon as Roar tried a pincer of a sprinter to one side of the Dutch dasher and a 200m specialist to the other, there to see who might best endure the triple of fast-sequence rounds of 50m freestyle.

This weekend in Budapest, Kromowidjojo will face a pincer of pure sprinters as Bronte bolsters the pace of Roar in a test of tactics on the way to qualification for and battle at a Final Match showdown of the top four teams in Las Vegas on December 20-21.

If such tweaks to strategy stem from the lessons learned last week for the four teams who made their League debut – London Roar, LA Current, Team Iron and NY Breakers, then newcomers Peaty, Belmonte, Guy (all Roar) and Verraszto (Iron) will shift the dynamics of the meet, too.

Peaty A Big Cat Among The Roar

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Adam Peaty – Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

Short-course. Not his thing, really – but even then, a danger to the last stroke, win or not. Peaty’s 25m-pool appearances have been relatively rare but in late 2017 he arrived unshaved and un-tapered in Copenhagen for the European s/c Championships.

Some were in peak form: best to sharpen the claws when pugilistic Peaty prowls in, whatever size the pool.

It was bronze in the 50m dash, Fabio Scozzoli (Italy and Aqua Centurions) the champion, and 13th in the 200m and there was plenty of evidence that Peaty had much room for improvement when it came to navigating the tight corners of the little pool. He even had a laugh about “screeching” round corners in the mixed zone. After bronze he said:

“It’s so annoying. That’s why I don’t like short-course. I’m probably the fastest swimmer in there but technical things are letting me down but that’s my fault. I’m going to come into long-course meets with all this footage now: what I’m doing wrong on the starts, what I’m doing wrong on the turns; what are some of the best here doing that I’m not: that’s going to be benefit me in the long run. It’s a long game …”.

Then came the 100m. Knockout: 55.94, European and Championship record for gold. Job done. Unrested.

How fast can a man learn? Scozzoli took silver in 56.15 and Kirill Prigoda, of Russia, bronze in 56.28, after his 200m win and silver ahead of Peaty in the dash. Prigoda, the son of Gennadiy Prigoda, a four-times Olympic medalist the pool, and Yelena Volkova, world champion in 200 m breaststroke in 1991, will step up in Budapest as teammate of Roar captain Peaty.

All are likely to be racing with bristles in Budapest. In Copenhagen two years ago, a hirsute Peaty rubbed his chin, laughed and confirmed: “Yeah. Not shaved either.”

It comes down to racing, he says, whatever the conditions. In short-course, he is not “a technician”, though what a technique. He is “a racer and if it comes down to a head to head I’m gonna beat anyone in the world”, he roars.

“That’s who I am that’s what me and Mel [Marshall, his coach at Derby, Loughborough and Roar too] work on. We did a lot of psychological stuff when I was younger. It was about ‘if this guy or girl is next to you in training and they get in front of you, you take ’em down. I’ve been closed to death on some of this moments.”

Vladimir Morozov

In Budapest, both Prigoda, with a best of 25.68, and Peaty, with a best of 25.70, both from that Danish dash in 2017, will take on Iron’s MPV of last week, Vladimir Morozov, who clocked a career best 26.15 for the win in Dallas.

Felipe Lima, for LA Current, with a best of 25.80, and Peter John Stevens, of Iron and with a best of 25.85, will also want to take back pride for the breaststroke specialists bruised by the U.S.-based Russian winner of a week ago.

In the 100m, the form guide favours Roar’s Peaty and Prigoda, while both will also take on the 200m, Prigoda the world record holder on 2:00.16 (not long before the barrier breaks, perhaps …), Peaty with everything to prove as he hunts points and pride, his best s/c a 2:07.34 posting at Copenhagen in 2017.

Belmonte The Butterfly Queen Of Spain

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Mireia Belmonte – Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA

At Rio 2016, Mireia Belmonte made history as Spain’s first Olympic swimming champion among women when she claimed gold in the 200m butterfly. She’s in Budapest with coach Fred Vergnoux, who joins Marshall on the front bench of coaching tactics.

Anyone facing Belmonte, of Roar, will be aware that the best tactic is to expect her to stand up and race hard every time. This weekend, that will mean at least two keen clashes with Katinka Hosszu, captain of Iron.

Over 200m butterfly and 400m medley, Belmonte is world-record holder. The first and to date the only woman to race inside 2mins over 200m ‘fly, on 1:59.61 for the 2014 world crown, she also leads the world clock in the long medley at 4:18.94. Hosszu’s ‘fly and medley bests are 2:01.12 and 4:19.46.

All those times for both women were c locked in championship conditions. The challenge in Budapest is to race – and hard under different circumstances, for team points not trophies.

Guy With An Eye On ‘Fly And Free

James Guy joins Roar mate Peaty for his first ISL meet this weekend. Tom Shields, for LA Current, took top sprints fly honours in Dallas and his best 100m is 48.63, from 2015. Guy is joining that fray with a best of 50.66 but a potential to break the British record of 49.21 held by Adam Barrett since 2016 world titles, sometime when. The race, the hand on the wall is where it will be at.

Guy will also be tough competition but also something of a dark horse in the 200 and 400m free races: his short-course appearances have been relatively rare, a 3:37.78 best over 400m, for example, dating back to 2015. His long-course efforts reminds us of the danger he poses. In both races, he will have Dallas winners and Roar mate from Australia, Elijah Winnington, alongside him.

Verraszto, son of Zoltan

Mar 9, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; David Verraszto competes in the 400 lc meter IM during the 2012 Columbus Grand Prix at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavillion. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

David Verraszto – Photo Courtesy: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE

David Verraszto is the son of Zoltan Verraszto, who boasts a rare line of medals from his 1970s swimming career.

In 1973 at the first World Championships, he claimed silver in the 200m backstroke behind the Rolls Royce of that stroke and the man who remains to this day the most decorated backstroke swimmer in history, Roland Matthes (double Olympic gold, 1968, 1972, bronze, 1976) topped by the World 200m backstroke title in 1975.

In 1975, Verraszto took gold in the 200m and then it was bronze in 1978.

His son, David, is the medley ace who claimed a record three successive European 400m medley crowns: 2014, 2016 and 2018. At home in Budapest for Iron he will be a tough racer in the 200, 400m medley and the 200m breaststroke, in which he has and still may dent the pride of specialists.

Roar gets Louder Still

Cate Campbell on a Roar Photo Courtesy: ISLcatecampbelllondonroar

Cate Campbell ready to Roar Photo Courtesy: ISL

After its strong win in Dallas last week, London Roar have an even more formidable line-up ready for Budapest, the Australian powerhouses joined by the likes of Peaty and Guy. There’s tactics to take into account, too, now that learning has crept up the aerial after one meet.

The Sister Skins will join battle in the 50m free rounds but they’ll be a Campbell in each Roar camp when it comes to the women’s 4x100m free relays and the hunt for maximum points when the counting goes double.

Roar’s roar will be heard from two quartets capable of keeping the vast bulk ion national teams at bay in championship waters:

1. Jeanette Ottesen, Emma McKeon, Marie Watten and Cate Campbell
2. Bronte Campbell, Holly Barratt, Minna Atherton and Sydney Pickrem

Similarly, the two Roar men’s 4x100m medley quartets are capable of beating all others, Christian Diener, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Yuri Kisil in one lane, Guilherme Guido, Kirill Prigoda, Vini Lanza and Kyle Chalmers the next.

On your marks…

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