The Week That Was: ISL Announces 2020 Details; Adam Peaty Welcomes Baby Boy

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Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.

The International Swimming League announced its plans for its second season that will take place next month in Budapest as the best swimmers in the world will be participating in a “bubble” environment. Here is a list of the notable swimmers that will bypass the league this year as two new franchises have been added to the global league.

World record holder and Olympic champ Adam Peaty also welcomed his first son as his girlfriend Eiri Munro gave birth on Friday morning.

Read below the five biggest stories in The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.

The Week That Was #1: International Swimming League Announces 2020 Details

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Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

By Liz Byrnes, Europe Correspondent

The second season of the International Swimming League (ISL) has been launched with two additional teams, new rules  and a possible trip to Tokyo for the grand final in December.

ISL founder Konstantin Grigorishin, technical director Apostolos Tsagkarakis and Hubert Montcoudiol, head of commercial operations, appeared in a virtual press conference in Paris with a picture of Florent Manaudou – whose appearance in the skins decider at the grand final ensured victory for Energy Standard last season – as backdrop.

Grigorishin talked of “sportainment” – performance plus entertainment – and allowing spectators not only to observe but to interact – “they would like to be actors,” he stated.

So too did the Ukrainian emphasise the nature of the competition where claiming points for your team is paramount.

He said:

“For us records and time is not a big issue any more. Time is more a modern thing. It is more like a scientific experiment but when we are talking about post-modern competition: we don’t have time, we have to have some eternal achievements.

“If you are creating superheroes, if you are creating legends – it should be eternal.

“For instance, Johnny Weismuller. The swimmer who first swam faster than one minute in the 100 freestyle. Now even 13-year-old girls can do this – I cannot – but it doesn’t mean Johnny Weismuller was not a superhero.

“So because he was the best of the best: he was the best of that time and it should be some eternal achievement.

“In our competition you just have to be the first spot: the time is not so important.”

The trio released details of the 2020 season which will launch in Budapest, Hungary, on 16 October with confirmation the league will feature 10 teams – two more than in the inaugural campaign – with the Toronto Titans and Tokyo Frog Kings joining the fray, the latter adopting the nickname of their general manager and four-time Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima.

#2: Adam Peaty & Girlfriend Eiri Munro Welcomes Baby Boy

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Photo Courtesy: @adam_peaty

By Andy Ross

Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Adam Peaty and girlfriend Eiri Munro welcomed their new baby boy on Friday. George-Anderson Adetola Peaty was born September 11, 2020, weighing in at nine pounds, seven ounces. The couple announced their pregnancy in April 2020 as Peaty enters fatherhood while training for the 2021 Olympic Games where he is the reigning champ in the 100 breaststroke.

The Week That Was #3: USA Swimming to Honor the 1980 Olympic Swim Team at Golden Goggles

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Photo Courtesy: Swimming World Magazine

By Dan D’Addona

In a year unlike any other, the 2020 Golden Goggle Awards will also make an unprecedented move to an all-virtual format on Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Due to travel and social distancing precautions, guests will now be able to attend the event from the comfort of their home online at usaswimming.org on November 19 and via rebroadcast on Olympic Channel Tuesday, November 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Customarily a red-carpet gala which honors the USA Swimming National Team and raises funds for the USA Swimming Foundation, this year’s 17th annual Golden Goggle Awards will continue the celebration of swimming excellence by honoring the 1980 Olympic swim team, along with members of the swimming community who’ve been serving the front lines during this pandemic.

“Golden Goggles is definitely going to have a different look this year, but it’s still a great opportunity to honor the incredible people within our sport,” USA Swimming Chief Operating Officer Mike Unger said. “This year’s event will include a salute to our front-line workers keeping Americans safe as well as a celebration honoring the 40-year anniversary of the 1980 Olympic team. The athletes on this team have long-deserved this recognition.”

Meet the athletes of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Swim Team: here

#4: 2021 Australian Swimming Championships Headed to Gold Coast

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Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

By Andy Ross

South East Queensland is set to play host to the Australian Swimming Championships and the Australian Age Swimming Championships as they return to the Gold Coast in April 2021 following their cancellation in 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19.

Returning to the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, it will be the first national event held in the coastal city since the 2018 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials for Commonwealth Games team selection.

Still mirroring similar timelines to what was planned in 2020, the Age Championships will run from 5-12 April and the Australian Championships from 14-18 April.

The country’s open multi-class swimmers and Paralympic contenders will compete for national titles at the beginning of the Australian Age Champs, providing a vital racing opportunity before trials in June – effectively marking the start of the competition on 5 April.

The Australian Swimming Championships will provide a valuable hit out for Olympic hopefuls as they will have the chance to swim morning finals to replicate and prepare for what they will experience in Tokyo.

Age swimmers from all over the country will have an added incentive as the meet will be a selection event for the World Junior Championships and the Oceania Championships.

The Week That Was #5: Leon Marchand Verbally Commits to Arizona State For 2021

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Photo Courtesy: @leon.marchand31

By Andy Ross

The Arizona State Sun Devils snagged a huge commit on Sunday out of French national record holder Leon Marchand from France. Marchand won the bronze medal in the 400 IM at the 2019 World Juniors with a 4:16.37, which stands as the national record for France as he was ranked 40th in the world in 2019.

Leon Marchand swims for Nicolas Castel at The Dolphins in Toulouse as he will join Bob Bowman and company at Arizona State in the fall of 2021. Bowman has had a rich history of training 400 IM’ers, guiding Michael Phelps to the sport’s pinnacle in 2004 and 2008, with the latter setting a world record that is still standing 12 years later. He also coached Chase Kalisz to a silver medal in the event at the 2016 Games.

The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.

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