Tomorrow the second season of the International Swimming League starts with none other than our mighty top swimmer Kregor Zirk! As a reminder, last year it was Kregor's home club Energy Standard who won the ISL.
Of course, everything is different this year - the format, the length of the season and the travel from one location to another have all changed. While back in September there was speculation that the ISL's second season finale could be held in Tokyo, today it is certain that this will not be the case and all matches for the season, as well as the final, will take place in Budapest, Hungary.
The day before the start of the second ISL season, we managed to interview Kregor, where he talked about the restrictions in Hungary, the changes to the ISL competition format, the start of his own season and training, as well as how strong their team is this year.
Kregor, arrived in Hungary on Sunday. Tell us about life there and what restrictions you have to respect?
Elu on teistsugune, kui muidu. Me elame täielikus nö “mullis”. Välja minek värskesse õhku on piiratud, mis tähendab, et iga päev on selleks aega 90 minutit. Ega me seda tegelikult ära ei kasuta, sest linna peale minek ei ole nagunii lubatud. Meie hotell on saare peal ja siin võime liikuda ning loomulikult võime ka hotelli ja ujula vahet liikuda.
Do you already know which areas you're competing in? How's your form?
At the moment, I don't know yet in which areas I'll compete, as this is decided by the team before each race. New decisions can also be made during the races, that's all allowed.
We've been training pretty hard for the last month. I think you can swim pretty well on that. The race is quite long - about 6 weeks. It's more important to be in good shape towards the end, when we hopefully reach the final - it's definitely important to be at your best then.
How has the ISL format changed compared to last year?
The biggest change is that the ISL season will be over in 5-6 weeks, so there will be more matches and everything will take place in a row. Matches will not take place in different locations like last year. First there will be 10 matches in a very short period of time, followed by two semi-finals and finally the final at the end of November. Other changes include the addition of two teams and the addition of the 100 m all-around.
Energy Standard match dates and opponents
How big is the team representing Energy Standard in Hungary?
Each team is allowed the same number of swimmers - 16 men and 16 women, plus reserve swimmers. A couple of swimmers tested positive before the trip and are not in Hungary at the moment, but it is possible that they will be able to join us halfway through the season. It's a big team and there are a lot of new faces, but I think we have a very strong team and definitely a better team than last year.
It's probably too early to speculate, but since your club won last year, how do you rate your chances of winning this year? Do you also feel any extra pressure about defending last year's title?
I think our team last year was quite weak on paper, but together we were strong. This year, I feel we are a pretty strong team on paper. I don't know if last year's first place will give us some extra momentum, but maybe a little bit because we haven't lost a match so far.
Last season we won all four matches we had. We want to win again this year and we certainly don't expect anything less. I think we have a pretty good chance of winning.
Last year, Energy Standard won the ISL season. Kregor on the right. Photo by Gian Mattia D'Alberto/LaPresse
How long of a break from competition have you had? How prepared are you for the upcoming competitions?
Fortunately, my break from the competition was not too long. During the summer I was able to participate in a couple of races - both in the pool and in the lake. The last competition was the Estonian Championships in early August. That was also more than two months ago, but now that we are competing quite a lot here, the competitive feeling will come back quickly.
How has the start of the season and training been?
The start of the season has gone pretty well. I've been training in Turkey since the beginning of September. In the meantime, I also spent a week at home for a bit of a refresh. Training has been going well so far and there have been no major problems during this time.
What other competitions do you plan to compete in this year?
The ISL season lasts for about 6 weeks and there is a race pretty much every week, so there will be a lot of competitions and starts in the next 1.5 months. Once that's over, there will probably be a little holiday and who knows, maybe I'll compete in the Estonian championships at the end of December. It would certainly be nice to compete in my home country, but I don't have a definite answer on that yet.
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Kregor Zirk competes in ISL competition Arena Carbon Flex VX with competition trousers. If you want to be ready for the next competitions too, you can. mine choose your favourite trousers from our online shop!