U.S. Olympians Nathan Adrian, Elizabeth Beisel, Christine Marshall at the Golden Goggles

Feature by Kristen Heiss

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, November 20. THE Golden Goggles were held on Nov. 17, in New York City. Besides being a banquet to honor the memorable swimming events and athletes of 2008, the Golden Goggles were also a great way for the star athletes of USA Swimming to reunite and enjoy an evening together. The event was a hit among the athletes, and U.S. Olympians Nathan Adrian, Elizabeth Beisel and Christine Marshall shared a little bit about their experiences in New York City to Swimming World.

For Nathan, the trip from Berkeley, Calif., to New York City for the Golden Goggles was a long one but well worth it.

"I loved [New York City]," Nathan said. "I always thought of myself as much more of a West Coast person but I could see myself living there and loving it."

The day of the Golden Goggles, Nathan toured around New York City with Marshall and French Olympian Sebastian Rouault. The group of swimmers was able to see the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero before heading back to the hotel to get ready for an evening of festivities.

Elizabeth also saw the sights on Monday but made it a priority to get a little shopping in, hitting up both Times Square and Fifth Avenue. Although this was Elizabeth's third Golden Goggles, this year was her favorite because it was in New York City.

"Shopping there is awesome!"

After a day of playing around the city, the athletes prepared for the Golden Goggles at the Hilton Hotel. After donning formal attire, the athletes headed down to the VIP room to mingle. For Christine, the VIP room was the best part of the night.

"Getting to see everybody [fellow Olympic Team members] and talk to everybody was my favorite because I haven't been able to see anyone for awhile," Marshall said.

Elizabeth also agrees that catching up with the all of the athletes, and seeing everyone dressed up was one of the highlights of the night.

After spending some time in the VIP room, the athletes then headed to the red carpet to have their pictures taken and to do interviews. From the red carpet, the athletes continued on to the banquet room for dinner. The athletes were spread out, and every invited athlete was a host of a table. For Nathan, his favorite part of the night was the dinner at his table.

"I really enjoyed the table I was at," Nathan said. "David Blaine and a famous movie producer were at my table."

Besides famous magicians and movie producers, Nathan also saw Donald Trump and NFL football player Tiki Barber.

For Elizabeth, the best part of the night was also the dinner.

"I had a really fun table," Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth managed to catch a few of David Blaine's card tricks and to see Stephanie Pratt from the popular television show, The Hills. Elizabeth liked seeing different celebrity faces at the Golden Goggles.

"There were a lot of heavy-hitters, which was awesome for swimming because that usually doesn't happen," Elizabeth said.

Not only did the athletes in attendance at the Golden Goggles see some of today's celebrities, but they also came home with a few extra bonuses, one of them being a fairly substantial gift certificate to Pizza Hut.

"As soon as I got it I texted my teammates [at Texas A&M] to tell them pizza party when I get back!" Christine said.

The Golden Goggles was not strictly play time however. For the swimmers wanting to get in a practice before the banquet began, there was a 5:15 a.m. wake-up call for practice. Elizabeth managed to get up at 5 a.m. to make it to practice. Nathan says he woke up the morning of Golden Goggles with the intentions of getting in a practice before the award ceremonies at night, but after a late flight in the night before, "it [practice] didn't end up happening, of course."

Nathan did manage amidst all the fun, however, to finish his online homework that was due while he was in New York City.

After a busy 36 hours in New York City, the athletes were all on a plane home to their respective teams and pools to continue working towards their goals and another reason to be invited back to the Golden Goggles in 2009.

Katie Hoff (l) and Elizabeth Beisel (r) at Golden Goggles

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