And the Golden Goggle Goes to…

By John Lohn

CRANBURY, New Jersey, November 8. THE Golden Goggle Awards, honoring the elite swimmers in the United States, will be held on Nov. 18 at the Beverly Hilton. It will be a star-filled affair, with athletes recognized for their achievements in 2007. Here is one man's take on who should win in each category.

Breakout Performer of the Year: The nod goes to Ben Wildman-Tobriner, on the cover of the current issue of Swimming World Magazine, over Rebecca Soni and Kim Vandenberg. Not only did Wildman-Tobriner claim the world championship in the 50-meter freestyle in Melbourne, he was faster a few months later while prevailing at the United States National Championships.

Wildman-Tobriner stands a great chance at winning gold at the Beijing Olympics, although he'll first have to successfully negotiate the Olympic Trials in Omaha. The vote for second in this category goes to Rebecca Soni, who doubled at Nationals in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, making her an Olympic-medal contender in each discipline.

Perseverance Award Shifting from one aspect of the sport to another is a difficult chore, but Mark Warkentin has proven it can be done. Warkentin has established himself as one of the world's premier open-water performers and recently won the 10K title at the U.S. Championships, earning a bid to the World Champs in Spain next year. With a top-10 finish at that meet, Warkentin will punch a ticket to the Olympics. The other nominees are Ryan Lochte and Margaret Hoelzer.

Coach of the Year: Not an easy choice with Bob Bowman, Teri McKeever, Ray Benecki, Gregg Troy and Paul Yetter up for the award. Ultimately, we'll go with Bowman, the man who oversees the Club Wolverine and University of Michigan programs. Not only did Bowman guide Michael Phelps to seven gold medals and four individual world records at the World Champs, he helped Peter Vanderkaay to a national title in the 400 free and to one of history's best showings in the 200 free. And, those are just two of Bowman's pupils. He's also the mentor to a number of other big names and is continually developing talent. See Emily Brunemann.

Relay Performance of the Year: This one is a tough call between the women's 800 freestyle relay and the men's 800 freestyle relay. Both set world records at the World Championships, but the choice is the female group of Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer, Lacey Nymeyer and Katie Hoff. The quartet set a global standard of 7:50.82, with Coughlin leading off in American-record time for her 200 freestyle. That individual record within a team mark was enough to put the ladies over the top.

Female Performance of the Year: Kate Ziegler is nominated twice in this category, for her 1500 free at the TYR Meet of Champions and for her gold-medal swim in the 800 free at the World Champs. Considering her 1500 free effort sliced nearly 10 seconds off the oldest mark on the books and one held by the legendary Janet Evans, that's enough for me. Also nominated are Katie Hoff for her world-record swim in the 400 individual medley at Worlds and Natalie Coughlin for her 100 back world mark in Melbourne.

Male Performance of the Year: Like Kate Ziegler, Michael Phelps is nominated in two events, the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly. I like this 200 free for the award because of its impact. Few thought Ian Thorpe's world record in the event was within reach, but Phelps went faster, clocking 1:43.86 for gold at the World Championships. Phelps could also have been nominated for his world record in the 400 I.M., which was his final race after a grueling slate in Australia. Other nominees here were Ryan Lochte for his 200 backstroke world record and Aaron Peirsol for his world record in the 100 back.

Female Athlete of the Year: It really isn't fair to pick between Natalie Coughlin, Kate Ziegler and Katie Hoff. They all set world records during the year, with Coughlin and Ziegler doing so in long course and short course. The pick for the award is Coughlin, due to her versatility. Not only has she set world records in the 100 back in long course and short course, she helped the U.S. to a world record in the 800 free relay, leading off with an American record for the 200 free. She also set American records at the World Champs in the 100 free and 100 butterfly. Her portfolio is amazingly complete.

Male Athlete of the Year: No mystery here. It's Phelps, for his seven gold medals at the World Champs and for his backstroke exhibition at Nationals, where he nearly set a pair of world marks. Ryan Lochte had a great year and so did Aaron Peirsol. Phelps, however, is a slam dunk.

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