Monday, 23 December 2019:
 | | CATE CAMPBELL of Australia competes in the Women's 50m Butterfly final of the FINA Swimming World Cup at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center in Tokyo, Japan. | |
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It may have come to a thrilling finish but Cate Campbell believes the inaugural International Swimming League's impact will be felt for decades to come.
The Australian swimming great was not able to get her team London Roar over the line in the ISL grand final in Las Vegas on Sunday (AEDT), with Europe-based Energy Standard pipping them by less than 10 points.
But nothing could dampen Campbell's spirits after the ISL's successful debut, saying it had revolutionised the sport.
The brainchild of Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Grigorishin, the six-leg ISL featured eight 28-strong teams from the US and Europe boasting more than 100 male and female Olympians competing for lucrative cash prizes around the world on equal pay.
The ISL boosted Campbell's bank balance, helping the former world champion finish the year with total earnings of more than $500,000.
But Campbell believed the ISL would help swimmers hit the jackpot in the future.
"I have been doing swimming for many years now but I haven't experienced a competition quite like the ISL before - for an old timer that is quite exciting," the 11-year Australian team veteran told AAP.
"I hope in 30 years' time I will look back and there will be a fully functional professional swimming league and think as part of that, I was right there in its infancy.
"If we can continue to make it (swimming) evolve and move with the times that would be my ultimate dream."
Campbell hoped the competition's success would also help end a "cold war" between the ISL and world body FINA.
FINA initially told swimmer they would be hit with Tokyo Olympic bans if they competed in the "rebel" ISL, but withdrew the threat after an outcry from star athletes, including Campbell.
"This isn't about pitting two organisations against each other," Campbell said.
"I was a fan of the ISL because I saw an opportunity to further the sport of swimming, to make it a more viable sport for athletes to choose.
"Hopefully this cold war that is going on between FINA and ISL will be resolved in the future and I think it will.
"The ISL had to come in and shake up the game and change things and while FINA might react to it, I hope that eventually we can start working together for the benefit of swimming."
Campbell is looking forward to a well-earned break after her busiest year, which also included earning more than $400,000 on the seven-leg World Cup series, a world titles campaign in July and FINA's Champions Series - the world body's answer to the ISL.
"When I started this campaign it wasn't about making money or joining a rebel cause, it was about giving myself the best possible preparation for Tokyo," Campbell said.
