PHOENIX, Arizona, December 1. THE United States swept Swimming World's World Swimmers of the Year awards this year with Ryan Lochte and Rebecca Soni topping all-comers in the panel's voting.
This year, Soni became the first American woman to stand atop the World Swimmer of the Year rankings since Natalie Coughlin claimed the honor back in 2002. Soni also held off defending champion Federica Pellegrini of Italy from a repeat performance. Soni's ability in the breaststroke was more than enough to give Soni both the World and American Female Swimmer of the Year accolades.
WORLD SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
FEMALE
1. REBECCA SONI, USA
2. Federica Pellegrini, Italy
3. Alicia Coutts, Australia
4. Rebecca Adlington, Great Britain
5. Jessica Hardy, USA
AMERICANS SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
FEMALE
1. REBECCA SONI, USA
2. Jessica Hardy, USA
3. Elizabeth Beisel, USA
4. Dana Vollmer, USA
5. Christine Magnuson, USA
Lochte, meanwhile, slayed the dragon in 2010 by ending Michael Phelps' record four-year streak atop the mountain as the Male World Swimmer of the Year. The win gave Lochte his first regional and world triumph in the voting as he stepped out of Phelps' shadow. Lochte put together his best year to date with an impressive outing at Pan Pacs with wins in the 200 free (1:45.30), 200 back (1:54.12), 200 IM (1:54.43) and 400 IM (4:07.59).
WORLD SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
MALE
1. RYAN LOCHTE, USA
2. Michael Phelps, USA
3. Kosuke Kitajima, Japan
4. Camille Lacourt, France
5. Ryan Cochrane, Canada
AMERICANS SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
MALE
1. RYAN LOCHTE, USA
2. Michael Phelps, USA
3. Brent Hayden, Canada
4. Ryan Cochrane, Canada
5. Nathan Adrian, USA
We thank the following panelists for volunteering their time and their expertise in the selection process:
ASIA: Hideki Mochizuki, writer for Japanese Swimming Magazine and Swimming World Japanese correspondent. AUSTRALIA: Nicole Jeffery, senior sportswriter for The Australian; Ian Hanson, owner of the Hanson Media Group; Ron McKeon, president of the Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association. CENTRAL EUROPE: Camillo Cametti, editor of Nuoto; EASTERN EUROPE: Norbert Agh, Swimming World European correspondent from Hungary; Ivan Tsanov, editor of Bulswim.info in Bulgaria. MIDDLE EAST: Buky Chass, swimming commentator for Israeli TV and former national technical director. NORTH AFRICA: Chaker Belhadj, swimming writer for Le Temps. NORTHERN EUROPE: Oene Rusticus, Swimming World European correspondent from The Netherlands SOUTH AFRICA: Neville Smith, Swimming South Africa. SOUTH AMERICA: Jorge Aguado, Swimming World South American correspondent from Argentina; Alex Pussieldi, senior writer for Bestswimming.com.br. UNITED KINGDOM: James Hickman, director of Made in Manchester TV. SWIMMING WORLD: Jeff Commings, associate producer SwimmingWorld.TV; Bob Ingram, senior editor; Judy Jacob, production assistant; John Lohn, senior writer; and Jason Marsteller, general manager of media properties.