WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue alumna and USA Swimming National Team member Kaersten Meitz has signed on to race for the Toronto Titans in the upcoming third season of the International Swimming League, which will hold its regular season from Aug. 26 to Sept. 30 in Naples, Italy.
The ISL is an international professional swimming competition with teams based in Europe (Italy, France, Hungary and England), North America (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and Toronto) and Asia (Japan).
ISL Season 3 will take place in three phases. Naples is hosting all 10 ISL clubs for a five-week regular season from late August through the end of September. This will be followed by a three-week playoffs phase in November, which will bring together the top eight ISL clubs to compete for a spot in the league final. The ISL Grand Final is set to take place at the end of December or early January, when the ISL champion will be crowned.
Many of the top swimmers from around the world have raced in the first two season of the ISL, including many Olympic medalists this year in Tokyo. The 2020 league champ Cali Condors earned just under $1.5 million as a team.
Meitz (2015-18) is the Boilermakers' program record holder in the 500-, 1,000- and 1650-yard freestyle. She was added to the USA Swimming National Team in September 2017 going into her senior season. The Wisconsin native closed out her college career as a four-year NCAA Championships qualifier, four-time All-American and two-time medalist at the Big Ten Championships.
At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, Meitz was a finalist in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle. She plans to continue swimming competitively with her focus set on the ISL and FINA World Championships in the summer of 2022.
"Despite all of the obstacles that came my way this spring, I had the time of my life [at the Olympic Trials] and am so honored and humbled to have been able to represent A3 Performance and Purdue on the USA's biggest stage," Meitz wrote on Instagram on June 20. "The results were not what I wanted but that doesn't change my love for this sport. I couldn't be more grateful for the love and support from my family, friends, teammates, and of course, my coach, John Klinge."
Like many swimmers, Meitz had to improvise to continue her training throughout the early days of COVID-19 pandemic in the spring and summer of 2020. That included outdoor swimming in a wetsuit in a pond near her parents' home in Wisconsin. Fellow Purdue alumna Taite Kitchel also helped Meitz track down an inflatable pool in Zionsville that the owner eventually donated to the cause after he learned what it would be used for. Though small, the inflatable pool coupled with a resistance band and wetsuit served its purposes until better options became available. It also led to Meitz being featured on the hit web series Some Good News.
Meitz has previously enjoyed her top international success in Italy, winning a pair of gold medals at the 2019 World University Games. She was victorious in the 400-meter free after helping the USA win gold in the 4x200 free relay. Later that year she joined fellow Boilermaker Jinq En Phee at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Budapest.
The ISL is an international professional swimming competition with teams based in Europe (Italy, France, Hungary and England), North America (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and Toronto) and Asia (Japan).
ISL Season 3 will take place in three phases. Naples is hosting all 10 ISL clubs for a five-week regular season from late August through the end of September. This will be followed by a three-week playoffs phase in November, which will bring together the top eight ISL clubs to compete for a spot in the league final. The ISL Grand Final is set to take place at the end of December or early January, when the ISL champion will be crowned.
Many of the top swimmers from around the world have raced in the first two season of the ISL, including many Olympic medalists this year in Tokyo. The 2020 league champ Cali Condors earned just under $1.5 million as a team.
Meitz (2015-18) is the Boilermakers' program record holder in the 500-, 1,000- and 1650-yard freestyle. She was added to the USA Swimming National Team in September 2017 going into her senior season. The Wisconsin native closed out her college career as a four-year NCAA Championships qualifier, four-time All-American and two-time medalist at the Big Ten Championships.
At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, Meitz was a finalist in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle. She plans to continue swimming competitively with her focus set on the ISL and FINA World Championships in the summer of 2022.
"Despite all of the obstacles that came my way this spring, I had the time of my life [at the Olympic Trials] and am so honored and humbled to have been able to represent A3 Performance and Purdue on the USA's biggest stage," Meitz wrote on Instagram on June 20. "The results were not what I wanted but that doesn't change my love for this sport. I couldn't be more grateful for the love and support from my family, friends, teammates, and of course, my coach, John Klinge."
Like many swimmers, Meitz had to improvise to continue her training throughout the early days of COVID-19 pandemic in the spring and summer of 2020. That included outdoor swimming in a wetsuit in a pond near her parents' home in Wisconsin. Fellow Purdue alumna Taite Kitchel also helped Meitz track down an inflatable pool in Zionsville that the owner eventually donated to the cause after he learned what it would be used for. Though small, the inflatable pool coupled with a resistance band and wetsuit served its purposes until better options became available. It also led to Meitz being featured on the hit web series Some Good News.
Meitz has previously enjoyed her top international success in Italy, winning a pair of gold medals at the 2019 World University Games. She was victorious in the 400-meter free after helping the USA win gold in the 4x200 free relay. Later that year she joined fellow Boilermaker Jinq En Phee at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Budapest.
I have peaked pic.twitter.com/2qNDAR7PhE
— Kaersten Meitz (@kaerstenmtz) May 18, 2020