NapoliColeman Stewart's world record in the 100m backstroke, the crowd bath for Federica Pellegrini, the friendliness of Caeleb Dressel's five Olympic gold medals, the many social initiatives.
The show of the International Swimming League did not disappoint expectations in the first two matches scheduled and, in the spirit of what has been defined as the Champions of swimming, it immediately sets an appointment for the next two matches (Thursday 2 and Friday 3 September) with the Australian Emma McKeon as protagonist (gold in Tokyo in the 4x100m freestyle, silver in the 4x200m freestyle and in the 4x100m medley and bronze in the 200m freestyle) and on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September with Federica Pellegrini and her Aquacenturions in the pool.
THE PROTAGONISTS – “Naples is a city that brings me luck. I won my first international medal here, I set the world record in the 100 backstroke here, the food is fantastic here. It's all beautiful. Needless to say, this is my favorite pool.” These are the words of 23-year-old Coleman Stewart who, after improving the American record, broke the world record in the 100 backstroke. “I didn't expect to improve it at this stage of the season, but needless to say, it was fantastic.”
For Caeleb Dressel, five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics are a springboard towards Paris 2024: “Don't remind me that Paris is only in three years. Jokes aside, nothing will change for my preparation. At the moment I'm enjoying my Calì Condors at the top of the rankings and we'll do everything to win again”. For Benedetta Pilato from Taranto, star of Energy Standard: “finally the public. It's wonderful to compete close to home. Even my parents managed to come to see my races. It's a format that I really like. Now I'll compete again on September 2 and 3. Then from the 16th we go back to school before being back in Naples”.
For Lilly King, Olympic champion in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the world champion in Budapest 2017, the difference in Naples is made by "the passion of the people and the love they have for swimming. It was a strange summer because it never happened to return to compete in such a short time. I had the opportunity to walk around the city a bit but also to concentrate on my Calì Condors"
FEDERICA PELLEGRINI – “These were exciting days. The Aquacenturions were used to seeing the rankings from other positions and instead closing well was beautiful. We are very warm in the team. I am very happy with my races. For Naples, having the greatest athletes in world swimming is very important. Here are the best in the world for six weeks and it is important.
My journey in the pool has been beautiful and I am happy to do these “overtimes” with a fantastic team. This format is very young. It is the third season and it can grow a lot. We have many more additions to the team. Winning the women's 4×100 medley was a great emotion and we always get very excited about this relay”. Federica Pellegrini will now return to the pool on September 4 and 5 and will take part in all of her Aquacenturions' matches.
SOCIAL – The visit of the families of Whirlpool workers who have been engaged for years in a very tough union struggle to safeguard their jobs. But also the meeting with the urchins of the Life association and many other social initiatives in concert with the councilor for social policies of the municipality of Naples Donatella Chiodo and the Campania Region.
The International Swimming League will be present in Naples during this month with many initiatives to demonstrate how swimming champions want to be testimonials of the social aspects of a city and a region to give, through their visibility, testimony of the most socially relevant issues of the community.
ISL, acronym for International Swimming League, was born 3 years ago by the will of Konstantin Grigorishin, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and philanthropist now based in London, who revolutionized the aquatic world with an innovative format involving major world cities and the most famous swimmers on the planet. In fact, ISL is a world team championship, created for the first time in 2019, in swimming. Since its first season, all the best athletes at international level have participated in ISL, with more than 150 Olympic and world medalists, with swimmers from more than 50 countries.
Among the most famous athletes who participated in ISL are the Americans Dressel and Ledecky, the Australians Campbell and Chalmers, the Europeans Sjostrom, Hosszu, Manaudou as well as all the best Italians, led by the "divine" Federica Pellegrini. By the will of Grigorishin himself, ISL has decided to return to the Campania Region and in particular to Naples, always using the Piscina Scandone as the Main Venue, a facility renovated in 2019 thanks to the Universiade, and the Piscina della Mostra d'Oltremare as the Training Center, bringing the most important sporting event of 2021 to the city as well as a highly valuable economic spin-off.
FORMAT – Three phases are planned, the Regular Season (Naples from August 26 to September 30) with a total of 11 matches for 22 match days. The second with the best 8 teams that will compete in November in the playoffs in Eindhoven and finally the Final Four scheduled for the first week of January. The official broadcaster of the event for Italy is Sky Sport.
TICKETS – All races will take place from Thursday to Sunday. You can choose between tickets valid for individual events or for mini-season tickets for two days of races with the possibility of also purchasing season tickets for all ISL races. Very interesting prices from 10 to 40 euros. Info, price and sales methods on the website www.vivaticket.it
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