A blow for the world’s best swimmers. The International Swimming League (ISL) announced on Sunday 27 March that it was postponing its new season, the fourth since its creation in 2019, by one year. The reason for this is the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. Initially planned for this year, the season 4 of the professional swimming league has been postponed to 2023. “The war in Ukraine is a tragedy that is destroying lives, families and homes, the ISL said in a statement. Many of our colleagues are stranded in Kiev and the conflict looks set to continue. In light of this force majeure, we cannot organise meetings in 2022. Therefore, we have decided to postpone our Season 4 to 2023.” Clarification: the ISL was founded by Konstantin Grigorishin, a Ukrainian businessman. The new season was to be held from June to December 2022. According to SwimmingWorld.com, the ISL has informed swimmers that it must also settle outstanding payments before launching a new season. The league’s withdrawal should give some breathing space to a crowded international calendar in 2022, with the World Championships from 18 June to 3 July in Budapest, the European Championships in Rome in August, and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, from 28 July to 8 August.
