The World Aquatics organization has announced it will pay a $4.6 million settlement to swimmers who competed for an independent league it had previously attempted to block.
Front Office Sports reported that the settlement in the class-action lawsuit, announced Monday by the global governing body, means that athletes who signed deals to compete in the International Swimming League would qualify for the settlement money.
“This settlement is a win for professional swimmers and the sport,” sports antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “We are pleased with this settlement and the groundbreaking relief for swimmers. Thanks to the perseverance of Thomas Shields and Katinka Hosszu, and to the new leadership of World Aquatics, swimmers will now have the ability to compete in future events without fear of penalty and hundreds of swimmers who contracted with ISL in 2018 and 2019 are eligible to receive compensation.”
Pro swimmers Hosszu of Hungary and Michael Andrew and Shields of the United States filed the antitrust case in federal court in December 2018 against World Aquatics — then known as Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) — claiming the federation had illegally restricted competition by threatening to revoke eligibility for events such as the world championships if they were to compete in ISL-sanctioned events.
The ISL competed in three seasons from 2019 to 2021, with the financial backing of its founder, Ukrainian businessman Konstantin Grigorishin. That money was halted with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and without it, the ISL postponed its 2022 season and has not returned.
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