Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Murphy Chasing \u2018Race Shape\u2019 as 2020 ISL Season Dawns<\/strong><\/p>\n

The restlessness started to set in for Caeleb Dressel<\/strong> in late August. He\u2019d been training somewhat regularly throughout the summer, with only slight intrusions from the COVID-19 pandemic on his training with Gregg Troy<\/strong> at the University of Florida.<\/p>\n

But as summer waned, Dressel started to feel a calendar he\u2019s been attuned to since he was 12, almost as if embedded in his bones. The summer would elapse without a major competition for the first time in longer than the world record holder could recall. The training was great, but the lack of racing stung.<\/p>\n

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LA Current’s Ryan Murphy; Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia D’Alberto\/LaPresse<\/p><\/div>\n
It\u2019s why the self-professed paranoid traveler donned a mask, face shield and sunglasses for the flight from San Francisco to Budapest last week for the ISL 2020 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Durden) has definitely got his eye on next summer,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cAnd the way he views this fall, the past couple of months, we\u2019ve been able to put in a lot of work when we can. We\u2019ve been going singles and for those two hours we\u2019re in the water, we\u2019ve been putting in really solid work, and now it\u2019s time to see where that puts us in terms of a racing standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy sees the schedule as easily integrated into his regimen. At the University of California, he\u2019s used to logging what four hard days a week. ISL racing will provide two of those, including back-to-back heavy days, which he isn\u2019t used to. There\u2019s also a psychological benefit to being around elite swimmers, something lost in the dislocation of pandemic-related lockdowns.<\/p>\n
With safety concerns addressed by the ISL\u2019s comprehensive medical protocols, Murphy feels safe pursuing the second season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here, and that\u2019s the great thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI think one of the things that\u2019s been asked is how we felt safe here, and we do feel safe. We did two tests before we left. We\u2019ve done two tests since we\u2019ve been here, and it\u2019s gone really well. So I\u2019m excited to finally, hopefully, be tested a little bit less often and racing a little bit more and getting back to doing what I love to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The California teams finished first and second in the American Conference last year, with the LA Current winning the College Park meet. Both advanced to the ISL Final Match<\/a>, the Condors finishing third and the Current fourth.<\/p>\n
The Condors lost a pair of big point-getters in Australians Mitch Larkin<\/strong> and Ariarne Titmus,<\/strong> who opted out, along with many of their countrymen<\/a>. Mallory Comerford<\/strong> also opted out, but the Condors added<\/a> Haley Anderson, Lia Neal<\/strong> and Allison Schmitt <\/strong>for the ISL 2020 season.
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The Current signed<\/a> Ali DeLoof, Maxime Rooney<\/strong> and Abbey Weitzeil<\/strong> to compensate for losses to the expansion teams, the Tokyo Frog Kings and Toronto Titans.<\/p>\n
The ISL season is such an important part of Dressel\u2019s training regimen that he felt secure being away from his fianc\u00e9e as they prep for their wedding in February. It helps that Budapest is hallowed ground, the site of his seven-gold-medal coming out party at the 2017 World Championships, as Dressel memorialized with an Instagram post of his younger, less-tattooed self.<\/p>\n
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Budapest will always have a special place in my heart from 2017 Worlds. What an experience and challenge. Great to be back in this city for @iswimleague. I was just a little guy! Not much has changed but a few more tattoos and a lot less braces ? always appreciative of where this sport has taken me ? #isl #budapest #2017worlds<\/a><\/p>\n
A post shared by Caeleb Dressel<\/a> (@caelebdressel) on Oct 13, 2020 at 2:29am PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n