UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Former Penn State swimmer and 2016 Olympian, Shane Ryan, will join the newly-founded Toronto Titans for the second season of the International Swimming League (ISL). He previously swam with the L.A. Current before signing with the Canadian-based team in early January.
The ISL is a first-of-its-kind professional swim league composed of 10 clubs worldwide - spanning from Europe, Japan, and the United States. It recently announced it will be embarking on its second season in October after finalizing plans for their swimmers to compete in a "bubble" environment in Budapest, Hungary.
Ryan will join Canada's first and only professional swim team for its inaugural season. Last season, with the L.A. Current, he earned 10.5 points and finished second at the US Derby in the 100 backstroke.
The Havertown, Pennsylvania, native has been training to compete in next year's summer Olympics for Ireland, where his father originally hails from and Ryan gained residency. After reaching the semifinals in the 100 back at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he has also won gold in the 50 back at the 2017 World University Games and earned bronze in the event at both the 2018 World Short Course Championships and 2018 European Long Course Championships.
During his time as a Nittany Lion, Ryan was a three-time gold medalist at the Big Ten Championships in the 100 back ('14, '15) and the 100 free ('14). He was named the 2014 Swimmer of the Big Ten Championships for his five podium finishes in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 free relay and 400 free relay. Ryan also had two NCAA Championship podium finishes in his career after setting a school-record and winning silver in the 100 back ('14) and winning bronze a year later in the same event. He still holds the school record in six events (50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 & 400 medley relay and 400 free relay).
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