NEW YORK (AP) — Olympic champion Nathan Adrian of Bremerton and
the 4×100 freestyle
From left to right, United
States’ Ryan Murphy, Cody Miller, Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian
celebrate winning gold during the medal ceremony for the men’s 4 x
100-meter medley relay final during the swimming competitions at
the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
relay team won the Relay Performance of the Year at the annual
USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards Monday.
Adrian anchored the U.S. to wins in the 4×100 free and the 4×100
medley relay and won bronze in both the 50- and 100-meter freestyle
events.
Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky both
earned Athlete of the Year honors for the third consecutive
year.
Phelps won six medals this summer, including five gold, and took
the male Athlete of the Year award for the seventh time overall.
Phelps also won Race of the Year for his 200-meter butterfly win at
the Rio Olympics and was a member of both winning relays. He was
also the fifth recipient of USA Swimming’s IMPACT Award, a lifetime
achievement honor for contributions to the sport.
Ledecky won female Athlete of the Year for a record fourth
consecutive year. Ledecky won four golds at Rio, joining Debbie
Meyer as the only women to win the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle
events at the same Olympics.
Simone Manuel won female Race of the Year for her gold in the
100 freestyle in Rio, when she set an American and Olympic record
at 52.70 seconds.
2016 USA Swimming Golden Goggle Award
Winners:
Female Athlete of the Year: Katie Ledecky
Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Phelps
Female Race of the Year: Simone Manuel, Women’s 100m Freestyle
(2016 Olympic Games)
Male Race of the Year: Michael Phelps, Men’s 200m Butterfly
(2016 Olympic Games)
Relay Performance of the Year: Men’s 4x100m Free Relay (2016
Olympic Games): Caeleb Dressel, Michael Phelps, Ryan Held, Nathan
Adrian
Breakout Performer of the Year: Lilly King
Perseverance Award: Anthony Ervin
IMPACT Award: Michael Phelps
Team Leadership & Inspiration Award: Elizabeth Beisel
Nathan Adrian of Bremerton with
his bronze medal after the men’s 100m freestyle final in the Rio
2016 Summer Olympic Games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Mandatory
Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
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.
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.
Back in July I
wrote this blog post about Nathan Adrian’s participation in the
Swim Across America to benefit Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and to
honor his friend and teammate Matt Benoit, who died of cancer in
April.
Well, the swim is Saturday at Luther Burbank Park, Mercer
Island, and it looks like it’s going to be a gorgeous, and warm,
day.
Nathan was in Seattle today, he co-hosted Evening Magazine and
was on one of the local TV stations to promote Saturday’s
event.
Here’s a link that was posted on his Twitter page;
The real reason I am up in Seattle is that
six months ago my buddy Matt called me up to invite me to the Swim
Acros… pic.twitter.com/FE4WipTPQC
Bremerton’s version of The Beatles were in town Monday.
OK, it would be one Beatle and it would be multiple-Olympic gold
medalist Nathan Adrian.
I don’t think the adjective fervor describes the intensity to
which the strapping 6-foot-6 swimmer received when he
was introduced to the public in a welcome-home fete at
Bremerton High School’s Performing Arts Center.
Ardor? Zeal? Those come close.
Receiving nearly the
same amount of applause were his parents, Jim and Cecilia, who have
picked up some worldwide notoriety thanks to their youngest son;
older brother Justin and his wife Hilary and their toddler daughter
and soon-to-be-born second child, and older sister Donella and her
husband Barry and their three children were also on hand.
Adrian was given a key
to the city by Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent, and Bremerton High swim
team captain Nathan Rubie, a state participant himself, also
presented Adrian with a Knights’ swim team t-shirt.
Remarks were given by Bremerton School District superintendent
Aaron Leavell, new principal Monica Sweet and Adrian’s former
age-group swim coach at Olympic Aquatic Club Bonnie
Burmaster.
On hand were nearly 1,200 fans, former teachers, community
members who wanted a chance to greet Adrian.
Nathan Adrian of Bremerton with
his bronze medal after the men’s 100m freestyle final in the Rio
2016 Summer Olympic Games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Mandatory
Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Fans will have a chance give Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian a hero’s
welcome, ask questions and receive an autograph from the
multiple Olympic gold medalist on Monday, Aug. 29 at Bremerton High
School’s Performing Arts Center at 5:30 p.m.
Adrian returns to his hometown for an autograph session,
question and answer period and those attending will have a chance
to hear Nathan speak about his experiences in Rio
after winning two gold medals and two bronze medals.
Adrian will arrive at the high school after being driven from
east Bremerton to west Bremerton from 5:15-5:30 p.m., across the
Manette Bridge, up 11th Street to the high school. The public is
welcome to wave, take pictures and cheer for Adrian along the
route.
Nathan Adrian reacts after
winning the mens 100-meter freestyle final at the U.S. Olympic
swimming trials, Thursday, June 30, 2016, in Omaha, Neb. (AP
Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Nathan Adrian of Bremerton won his third medal at the Rio
Olympics on Friday when he finished with a bronze in the
50-meter freestyle in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Adrian touched the wall in 21.49 seconds. U.S. teammate Anthony
Ervin won the gold in 21.40 and France’s Florent
Manaudou, who won gold in 2012, earned the silver in
21.41.
Adrian won a gold medal on Sunday anchoring the 4×100 free relay
and then won a bronze in the 100 freestyle in Wednesday.
He will swim in the 4×100 medley relay at 6 p.m. on Saturday and
look to earn his fourth medal.
Aug 11, 2016; Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil; Nathan Adrian (USA) after the men’s 50m freestyle semifinal
in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian was the fourth-fastest qualifier in
the 50 freestyle Thursday at the Rio Olympics.
Adrian finished second in his semifinal heat to defending gold
medalist Florent Manaudou of France. Manaudou touched the wall in
21.32 and Adrian in 21.47.
This is the first Olympic 50 free Adrian will swim as he didn’t
qualify in the event in 2008 or 2012, when he was favored to do
so.
Joining him will be U.S. teammate, and former California
teammate, Anthony Ervin who finished tied for first in the second
semifinal with Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov in 21.46.
Coming off his bronze-medal finish in the 100 freestyle late
Wednesday night in Rio, Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian won his heat in
the 50 freestyle Thursday morning to qualify for tonight’s
semifinals.
Adrian touched the wall in 21.61 seconds, out-touching teammate
Anthony Ervin in 21.63.
The evening session starts at 6 p.m. It can be seen live on CBC
locally, on nbcolympics.com or on tape delay on NBC at 8 p.m.
Nathan Adrian of Bremerton with
his bronze medal after the men’s 100m freestyle final in the Rio
2016 Summer Olympic Games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Mandatory
Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Olympic champion Nathan Adrian of Bremerton earned a bronze
medal in the 100 freestyle on Wednesday evening, in
47.85 seconds at the Rio Olympics.
Adrian was trying to become the first American to win
back-to-back golds in the sprint event since Johnny Weismuller did
it in 1924-28.
“I feel great about getting another medal, man. No doubt,” he
said. “To be able to look at the side of the block and see that
there’s lights there. It’s what you work for. It would be great to
have gold, but in this day and age in the 100 freestyle’s maybe the
most fickle event out there.”
It’s Adrian’s second medal of the games, he anchored the
4×100 free relay on Sunday to a win, and his sixth career
Olympic medal. Adrian was out-touched at the wall by gold medalist
Kyle Chalmers in 47.58 and Belgium’s Pieter Timmers in 47.80
for silver.
Adrian said he believed he was able to swim his own race.
“I did. I was next to a couple of guys who come home really
fast,” he said. “In a pool this small, there’s no getting away from
that.”
He will swim Thursday morning in the preliminaries in the 50
freestyle with the semifinals at 6 p.m.
Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian didn’t leave any doubt this time.
After just barely making the semifinals by .03 seconds in 16th
place, Adrian won the first semifinal heat in 47.83 to beat out
Australia’s Kyle Chalmers in 47.93.
The 100 free finals is at 6 p.m. Wednesday locally.
Here’s how to watch: NBCOlympics.com
(live), CBC (live, 3-8 p.m.), NBCSportsExtra app for
smartphone/tablet (live), NBC highlight show (tape delay, 8
p.m.)
