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.
