USA Swimming Announces 2018 Golden Goggles Nominees

Photo Courtesy: David Rieder

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Following standout performances throughout 2018, including the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, the United States’ top swimmers will be honored at USA Swimming’s 15th annual Golden Goggle Awards, slated for Monday, November 19 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.

Leading a decorated group of nominees is Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics) with three nominations following an outstanding 2018 season. Fellow world record-holders Kathleen Baker (Winston-Salem, N.C./Team Elite/California Aquatics) and Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Stanford Swimming) are among a group of seven swimmers up for two awards apiece.

Full event details, including table and seat purchasing opportunities, can be found at GoldenGoggles.com.

The United States’ top swimmers and coaches are nominated in eight categories for the 15th annual Golden Goggle Awards, the celebration and fundraising gala honoring the sport’s top performances of the year. This year’s event, emceed by actor and comedian John O’Hurley, will allow swimming stars and attendees to mingle with celebrities, outstanding athletes, business leaders and entertainment icons in the shadow of New York City’s Times Square.

Murphy’s three nominations include Male Athlete of the Year, Male Race of the Year for the 100-meter backstroke at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and Relay Performance of the Year for the 4x100m medley relay in Tokyo.

He is joined in the Male Athlete of the Year category by Chase Kalisz (Bel Air, Md./Athens Bulldog Swim Club) and Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif./Team Santa Monica). Kalisz is also up for Male Race of the Year honors for his 200m individual medley victory at Pan Pacs.

Baker and Ledecky are nominated for Female Athlete of the Year, as well as Female Race of the Year for their respective world-record swims in 2018. They are joined in both categories by Haley Anderson (Granite Bay, Calif./Trojan Swim Club).

Golden Goggle Award nominations are based on the year’s top accomplishments by U.S. swimmers, focusing primarily on the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships where Americans topped the medal table in Tokyo with 45 total medals across pool and open water competition. The complete list of 2018 Golden Goggle Award nominees by category is below.

Online fan voting is now open and will continue through Friday, Nov. 9. 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. 19 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 aimed 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.

You can vote here.

2018 Golden Goggle Awards Nominees

Breakout Performer of the Year

Perseverance Award

Coach of the Year

Jack Bauerle
Dave Durden
David Marsh
Teri McKeever
Greg Meehan

Relay Performance of the Year

Female Race of the Year

Katie Ledecky, 1500m Freestyle, 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series at Indianapolis
Kathleen Baker, 100m Backstroke, 2018 Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships
Micah Sumrall, 200m Breaststroke, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
Haley Anderson, Open Water 10K, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships

Male Race of the Year

Michael Andrew, 50m Freestyle, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
Zane Grothe, 800m Freestyle, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
Ryan Murphy, 100m Backstroke, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
Chase Kalisz, 200m Individual Medley, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships

Female Athlete of the Year

Haley Anderson
Kathleen Baker
Katie Ledecky

Male Athlete of the Year

Chase Kalisz
Ryan Murphy
Jordan Wilimovsky

The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with USA Swimming. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contactAdvertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use