Danas Rapsys Miscounts 400 Freestyle, Fends Off Grothe For Victory Anyway

2020 International Swimming League – Match 7

• Thursday, November 5th: 10AM – 12 noon Local Time (3AM-5AM U.S. Central Time, 6PM – 8PM J+1 Japan)
• Friday, November 6th: 10Am – 12 noon Local Time (3AM-5AM U.S. Central Time, 6PM – 8PM J+1 Japan)
• Duna Arena – Budapest, Hungary
• Short Course Meters (SCM) Format
• ISL Technical Handbook
• 2020 ISL Scoring Format
• 2020 ISL Prize Money and Bonuses
• How to Watch
• Omega Results
• Teams: Energy Standard/DC Trident/Toronto Titans/Iron

Thus far in ISL Season 2, Danas Rapsys has been a force to be reckoned with in the 400 freestyle, having won the event both times he has swum it; in Match 1 and Match 6. At Match 7, he went in as the favorite to win for Energy Standard but faced stiff competition in the form of DC Trident swimmers Zane Grothe, Velimir Stjepanovic. Both Grothe and Stjepanovic have already won the event this season for DC; Grothe at match 2 and Stjepanovic at Match 5. Faced with a strong DC contingent, Rapsys’ biggest threat in the event ended up being none other than himself.

Danas Rapsys had a solid front half of the 400, affording himself a strong lead in the at the 200 mark. His 1:47.45 split at half was more than 2 seconds ahead of the field, with Toronto’s Alexander Krasnych splitting a 1:49.47 as the second-fastest 200. Stjepanovic and Grothe flipped as third and fourth at the halfway point.

By the 300 mark, Rapsys had extended his lead to more than three seconds ahead of everyone else, more than 10 seconds faster than 8th place Leonardo Santos. It was looking good for Rapsys and likely that he would get a solid number of jackpot points for his efforts. That likelihood faded, however, when Rapsys reached the 350 mark of the race and seemingly believed that he had completed the race. Following a couple of seconds of recovery at the wall,  Rapsys realized (with the help of a screaming Energy Standard team on the pool deck) that he had not yet finished the race.

Men’s 400 Freestyle

After a 3/4 second rest, Rapsys pushed off the wall again and powered through the final 50 of the 400, getting his hand on the wall in a 3:40.83. That swim for him was the slowest by him for the season; at Match 1 he won the race with a 3:39.4 and at Match 6 he improved to a 3:35.5. The delay for Rapsys was almost fatal as Zane Grothe took full advantage of the slip-up and ripped through the last 50 of the race, nearly catching Rapsys. Ultimately Rapsys was able to out touch Grothe but only by 0.10. While he was able to maintain the win, the mistake likely cost him at least a few jackpot points. He still managed to take points from Santos but wasn’t fast enough to take anything from sixth place Danill Pasynkov or seventh place David Verraszto who scored 3 points for Toronto and 2 points for Iron, respectively.

Comparing Rapsys’ split with Grothe’s and with third place Velimir Stjepanovic, its clear that the few seconds he spent at the wall cost him a fair amount;

Further, Rapsys’ 7th split lowered to a 25.78 compared to the 27s that he had been splitting, indicative of the fact that he thought it was his last 50.

Mistakes aside, Rapsys was still able to contribute winning points to Energy Standard’s Day 1 efforts in Match 7. Rapsys and his teammates secured themselves an early lead going into day 2 of the meet and are the favorites to win the meet;

TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 1

1. Energy Standard – 300 points
2. Toronto Titans – 229 points
3. Iron – 205 points
4. DC Trident – 141 point