The 2017 USA Swimming Golden Goggles is a star-studded awards gala celebrating the year’s top achievements in swimming. This year’s event took place in Los Angeles with dinner and awards. Actor, comedian, and former swimmer Anders Holm served as the emcee for the evening, with additional performances by the improvisational comedy group The Second City.
Big name presenters for the night included Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant, Janet Evans, Matt Biondi, Nastia Liukin, and more! Scroll down to view the winners for each award.
FEMALE RACE OF THE YEAR
This award is given to the female swimmer with the greatest single individual race of the year, with special emphasis on the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Lilly King, 100m Breaststroke, 2017 FINA World Championships
In the highly anticipated women’s 100m breaststroke final at the 2017 FINA World Championships, Lilly King delivered. She jumped out to a quick lead off the blocks, led by more than half a second at the turn and held off the rest of the field over the final 50 meters to touch in a world record time of 1:04.13 – nearly a second clear of silver medalist teammate Katie Meili. King’s effort took more than two-tenths of a second off the 4-year-old world record.
MALE RACE OF THE YEAR
This award is given to the male swimmer with the greatest single individual race of the year, with special emphasis on the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Caeleb Dressel, 100m Butterfly, 2017 FINA World Championships
Caeleb Dressel led wire-to-wire to earn gold and become the second-fastest performer of all-time in the men’s 100m butterfly at the 2017 FINA World Championships. He touched in a time of 49.86 – just four-hundredths of a second off Michael Phelps’ world record – for the fastest textile time in history. The win marked his second gold medal of the night, as he became the first swimmer in the history of the World Championships or Olympic Games to win three world titles in a single session.
BREAKOUT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
This award is given to the athlete whose performance(s) stand out in relation to other years, with special emphasis on the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Mallory Comerford
In her long-course international debut, Mallory Comerford was a standout for Team USA at the 2017 FINA World Championships with five relay gold medals – 4x100m medley, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, mixed 4x100m medley and mixed 4x100m freestyle. She also briefly held the American record in the 100m free in Budapest with a leadoff split of 52.59 in the 4x100m free relay. The University of Louisville star won the 100m free title at the 2017 Phillips 66 National Championships and earlier in the year tied Katie Ledecky for the NCAA title in the 200y free.
PERSEVERENCE AWARD
This award is given to the athlete who came back from adversity, retirement, sickness, injury, etc., to have an outstanding performance(s) in 2017, with special emphasis on the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Matt Grevers
The 2012 Olympic champion in the 100-meter backstroke, Matt Grevers just missed a return trip to the Olympic Games in 2016 with a heartbreaking third-place finish in the event at Olympic Trials. The 32-year-old was determined to bounce back in a big way in 2017. And he did just that, winning the U.S. title in the 100m backstroke at the Phillips 66 National Championships to earn a return to the international stage. In Budapest, Grevers – a team co-captain – won four medals: silver in the 100m back, bronze in the 50m back and gold in the 4x100m medley relay and mixed 4x100m medley relay.
COACH OF THE YEAR
This award is given to the coach whose athlete(s) performed at the highest level throughout the year, with special emphasis on the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Greg Meehan
The Team USA women’s head coach for the FINA World Championships, Greg Meehan guided his Stanford swimmers to 14 medals – 12 of them gold – in Budapest. Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel each won six medals to lead all female competitors at the meet. Individually, Ledecky won her third straight world titles in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle, while Manuel won gold in the 100m free and bronze in 50m free and set American records in both events. Lia Neal added a pair of relay gold medals. On the collegiate front, Meehan’s Cardinal squad won the 2017 women’s NCAA title.
RELAY PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
This award is given to the best team relay performance, male or female. The performance considered must be a finals performance, with special emphasis on the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay, 2017 FINA World Championships
The U.S. women’s 4x100m medley relay line-up of Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Kelsi Worrell and Simone Manuel won gold in 3:51.55, setting a world record and finishing nearly 2 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Russia. After a close first two legs of the race, Worrell gave Team USA a lead that Manuel would not relinquish. The victory marked the third-straight gold medal for the U.S. women at the FINA World Championships in this event. The previous world record in the event was set by the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
This award is given to the top female swimmer of the year with special emphasis on achievements at the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky continued her unprecedented run of international success in Budapest by winning six medals – five gold – and claiming her third straight world titles in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle. Her 3:58.34 effort in the 400m free was a meet record and ranks as the second-fastest time in history. Ledecky added gold in the 4x100m and 4x200m free relays, as well as a second straight FINA World Championships medal (silver) in the 200m free. The Stanford standout now owns a women’s record 14 career gold medals in FINA World Championships action, including 10 individual world titles – more than any other woman. Earlier in 2017, Ledecky won five NCAA titles, posted nine American-record performances and 12 NCAA-record swims in her first year at Stanford.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
This award is given to the top male swimmer of the year with special emphasis on achievements at the 2017 FINA World Championships.
Caeleb Dressel
Caeleb Dressel had a FINA World Championships for the ages, as he joined Michael Phelps as the only swimmers to win seven titles at a single FINA World Championships. He won individual gold in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly to become the first American male since Ryan Lochte in 2011 to claim at least three individual titles at the same world championships. He set American records in the 50m free, 100m free and 50m fly in Budapest. On June 29, Dressel became the first swimmer in history to win three world titles in a single day on with gold in the 50m freestyle, 100m butterfly and mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. He also won gold in the 4x100m medley relay, 4x100m freestyle relay and mixed 4x100m medley relay in Budapest. At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Dressel won titles in the 50y free, 100y free and 100y butterfly for Florida.
.jpg "2017 Golden Goggles - logo"){kind=logo}
? ☁ ☔
fabulous :p
Curious to learn :p
Wow! So proud of Katie for winning female athlete of the year for a FIFTH time!! Yayayayay