Bremerton’s Olympic champion Nathan Adrian was nominated for three Golden Goggles, USA Swimming’s equivalent of the Oscars, on Wednesday.
Adrian, who came away from the Rio Games with four medals, two golds and two bronze, was nominated for male athlete of the year along with Michael Phelps, Anthony Ervin and Ryan Murphy.
Adrian was also nominated in the relay performance of the year category for the 400 free relay and the 400 medley relay. He helped Team USA to gold in both those events and individually earned bronze in the 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle.
The Golden Goggles, which act as a fundraising gala for the USA Swimmng Foundation which Adrian is an ambassador, is scheduled for Nov. 21 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.
Online fan voting is open and continues through Nov. 11. Go to usaswiming.org to vote.
Here is the full press release from USA Swimming, including the other nominees;
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After adding to his record-setting career total with six medals, including five gold, at the 2016 Olympic Games, Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md./North Baltimore Aquatic Club) leads the way with five nominations for the 2016 USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards, set for Monday, Nov. 21, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.
The nation’s top swimmers and coaches are nominated in eight categories for the 13th Annual Golden Goggle Awards, the celebration and fundraising gala honoring the sport’s top performances of the year. This year’s event, emceed by NBC Sports’ Bob Costas, will once again mix swimming stars with celebrities, business leaders and entertainment icons in Times Square.
Full event details, including table and seat purchasing opportunities, can be found at GoldenGoggles.com.
Phelps’ five nominations include Male Athlete of the Year, Male Race of the Year for the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley at the Olympic Games and Relay Performance of the Year for the men’s 4x100m free relay and 4x100m medley relay in Rio. Phelps is a six-time winner of Male Athlete of the Year honors, including each of the last two years.
Earning three Golden Goggle nominations each were Maya DiRado (Santa Rosa, Calif./Stanford Swimming), Anthony Ervin (Valencia, Calif./SwimMAC Carolina), Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Nation’s Capital Swim Club) and Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics).
Ledecky is nominated for Female Athlete of the Year, Female Race of the Year for the 800m free in Rio and Relay Performance of the Year for the 4x200m free relay at the Olympic Games. She will look to become the first athlete – male or female – to win Golden Goggles’ Athlete of the Year honors in four consecutive years.
Golden Goggle Award nominations are based on the year’s top accomplishments by U.S. swimmers, focusing primarily on the 2016 Olympic Games. The Americans topped the medal table in Rio de Janeiro with 33 total medals, including 16 gold. The complete list of 2016 Golden Goggle Award nominees by category is below.
Online fan voting is now open and will continue through Friday, Nov. 11. A percentage of the fan vote will count towards the final ballot. Beginning later this week USA Swimming will highlight Golden Goggle Awards categories weekly on usaswimming.org and across its social media channels in the lead-up to the Nov. 21 event.
Proceeds from the Golden Goggle Awards benefit the USA Swimming Foundation, which has the mission to save lives and build champions – in the pool and in life. In addition to its Make a Splash initiative, a national, child-focused water safety campaign that stresses the importance of learning to swim, the USA Swimming Foundation supports the U.S. National Team and its development efforts aim to establish an endowment to strengthen the future of USA Swimming’s programs and services. The Foundation also serves as the home for our National and Olympic Team Alumni reunions and regional events.
2016 Golden Goggle Awards Nominees
Breakout Performer of the Year
Lilly King
Cody Miller
Josh Prenot
Leah Smith
Perseverance Award
Kathleen Baker
Anthony Ervin
David Plummer
Dana Vollmer
Coach of the Year
Bob Bowman
Dave Durden
Bruce Gemmell
Ray Looze
David Marsh
Greg Meehan
Relay Performance of the Year
Men’s 4x100m Free Relay, 2016 Olympic Games
Women’s 4x200m Free Relay, 2016 Olympic Games
Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay, 2016 Olympic Games
Female Race of the Year
Simone Manuel, 100m Free, 2016 Olympic Games
Katie Ledecky, 800m Free, 2016 Olympic Games
Maya DiRado, 200m Back, 2016 Olympic Games
Lilly King, 100m Breast, 2016 Olympic Games
Male Race of the Year
Anthony Ervin, 50m Free, 2016 Olympic Games
Ryan Murphy, 100m Back, 2016 Olympic Games
Michael Phelps, 200m Fly, 2016 Olympic Games
Michael Phelps, 200m IM, 2016 Olympic Games
Female Athlete of the Year
Maya DiRado
Katie Ledecky
Simone Manuel
Male Athlete of the Year
Nathan Adrian
Anthony Ervin
Ryan Murphy
Michael Phelps
