A Return to France and Swimming World’s World Swimmers of the Year on The Week That Was

Photo Courtesy: Joao Marc Bosch

PHOENIX – This is the Week That Was for Monday, December 1, 2014, brought to you by swimoutlet.com, the web’s most popular swim shop. Be sure to check out their online holiday gift guide for great ideas for the swimmer on your shopping list.

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Though swimmers in the United States took some time off from competing last week to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, we still had some pretty big newsworthy moments take place, not just in the USA but elsewhere in the world. We’re counting down the top five swimming headlines of the past week on today’s show, and we’ll begin at number five.

Taking the number five spot is FINA’s announcement that France is returning as a host on the World Cup circuit after almost two decades away. The city which will host one of the two-day meets has yet to be decided, but the 2015 edition will now feature eight meets instead of seven. Paris and Chartres appear to be the two leading contenders, and FINA will likely make its selection in the coming months.

Up north in the Canada, four athletes were picked as that country’s swimmers of the year and that’s our number four headline. Ryan Cochrane earned male swimmer of the year for the seventh consecutive time, thanks to another incredible year that included gold in the 1500 free at the Commonwealth Games and gold in the 800 at the Pan Pacific championships. Brittany MacLean was another medal winner for Canada on the world stage, taking bronze in the 800 free at the Commonwealth Games and three more bronze medals at the Pan Pacific championships. And that doesn’t include her NCAA record in the 1650 freestyle at the NCAA championships last March. In disability swimming, Nathan Stein was named the male para-swimmer of the year for breaking two national records at the Para Pan Pacific championships while Aurelie Rivard was awarded the female para-swimmer of the year for her three golds, two silvers and two bronzes at the Para Pan Pacific championships. This was one of Canada’s best years on the world stage, and we’d like to congratulate our neighbors to the north for all their success in 2014.

The short course world championships begins Wednesday in Qatar, and we learned of three more medalists from the 2012 meet that won’t be in attendance. Late last week, George Bovell announced that he won’t swim in the meet, citing a preference to take a break from competition before diving back in for next year’s long course world championships, which many will argue is the bigger meet. Bovell has been doing well this fall, winning a few races on the World Cup circuit and ranking number one in the world in the 100 IM. Two New Zealanders will also be staying away, including 2012 world champion Lauren Boyle. Boyle was primed to repeat as 800 freestyle champion, especially given that chief rivals Katie Ledecky and Lotte Friis wouldn’t be there. But Boyle wanted to take the time to find a permanent coach as she prepares for 2016 after more than a year spent working with a couple of high-profile coaches in France and Australia. Her teammate Matthew Stanley, who won bronze in the 400 free in 2012’s short course worlds, is focusing on schoolwork this December and will also stay home. Despite the loss of many of the top athletes, the meet will still feature a major roster of stars, and you can find that entry list on our world channel at swimmingworld.com.

The Golden Goggles is always a fun occasion for USA Swimming to celebrate the accomplishments of its athletes, and this year’s ceremony featured some tight competition for the top awards to sit at number two on this week’s show. Katie Ledecky took home three trophies for female athlete of the year, female race of the year and relay of the year with her 800 free relay teammates from Pan Pacs. The competition for male athlete of the year was up for grabs, with Michael Phelps taking the award again. North Baltimore’s Keenan Robinson accepted the award for Phelps, noting that the legend was back in the pool training after a stint in rehab. The competition was also tight for male race of the year, and that went to Connor Jaeger for his 1500 free gold medal at the Pan Pacific championships. The perseverance award went to open water swimmers Andrew Gemmell and Haley Anderson for winning gold in the 10K at Pan Pacs after the race was delayed by a week. And the breakthrough perfomer of the year was Maya DiRado, who continues to excel in the 400 IM and 200 fly but got her first international gold medal in the 200 IM in Australia. You can read more about these winners, and watch their acceptance speeches, on our USA channel at swimmingworld.com.

Our number one headline of the week is today’s announcement of Swimming World’s World Swimmers of the Year. We’ve been doing this for 50 years, and a milestone was reached today. For the first time, a swimmer from Japan earned the honor, and it went to Kosuke Hagino for the male swimmer of the year. Hagino won more than a dozen medals at the Pan Pacific championships and Asian Games, including six golds and an Asian record in the 200 IM. And perhaps it’s no surprise that Katie Ledecky has won the female swimmer of the year again, thanks in no small part to the five world records she set this year in the distance freestyle events. As I mentioned, this is the first time Japan has been represented on our world swimmers of the year list, but this is the fifth straight year that the United States has won the female swimmer of the year award. Congratulations to Kosuke and Katie, and those who won the regional swimmers of the year. You can find the full list in the December issue of Swimming World Magazine.

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