Swimming, as I am frequently reminded by my parents, who spent the majority of my childhood sat by the side of a pool – or in my father’s case, missing my races in the search for a cup of coffee – is not known for being a spectator sport. The sport has been trapped in the dark ages, a problem that has already led to high-profile swimmers, such as Adam Peaty, becoming heavily critical of swimming’s governing body, Fina, and its inability to evolve. With bright lights reflecting off the curved ceiling of the London Aquatic Stadium, a DJ working throughout the meet, and fast paced racing, two things were made clear at the London leg of the ISL: there is a way for swimming to escape it’s outdated stereotypes, and the ISL will be the thing to drag it into the modern day world of sport. But rather than being hindered by this rare experience, the athletes embraced and enjoyed it with many discussing openly their joy at competing as a team. The competition saw swimmers both chanting in support of and making sacrifices for their team, with Peaty even going as far as to compete in a race he has never swum in before: 4x100m freestyle relay. Despite Peaty’s disappointment in the result of his 50m breaststroke, he wants his loss to bring attention to the unpredictability and excitement of the ISL. Short course is raw speed, off those walls, off those dives, so you could be the fastest swimmer long course, like with myself, but still lose. Swimmers, who are used to hours of recovery time between their races, were given minutes in order to increase the pace and excitement of the event, but to also push these athletes to their limits. The event has a zero-tolerance policy on doping, with no swimmer who has ever been tested positive for drugs allowed to compete, and offers something still fought for across sport: equal prize money for both men and women. But first the ISL must travel to Las Vegas for its final, where Peaty plans to enjoy himself both in and out of the pool.
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