NEW YORK CITY – The night proved to be enchanting as always with Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps earning top honors at the 2014 Golden Goggles Awards presented by USA Swimming.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
KATIE LEDECKY – For the second straight season, Katie Ledecky simply had a record-setting summer. In 2014, she posted five world-record swims over a two-month stretch, which was capped with world records in the 400m free and 1500m free on back-to-back nights at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. Her run of records started by eclipsing her own world-record marks in the 800m free and 1500m free at The Woodlands Swim Team Senior Invitational in Shenandoah, Texas, in late June. It continued in August at the 2014 Phillips 66 National Championships where she took possession of the 400m free world record for the first time with a time of 3:58.86 and in the process became the first woman to hold the 400m, 800m and 1500m free world records at the same time since the legendary Janet Evans. At Phillips 66 Nationals, Ledecky won titles in the 200m, 400m and 800m free to earn her spot on the Pan Pacs roster. In Australia, she became the first woman to win four individual gold medals as she topped the podium in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m free and added gold in the 4x200m free relay. Over the final two nights of competition at Pan Pacs, Ledecky broke her 400m free record by nearly a half second with a time of 3:58.37 and took an amazing six seconds off her 1500m free record with at time of 15:28.36.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
MICHAEL PHELPS – After returning to competition for the first time since the 2012 London Olympic Games at the April 2014 Arena Grand Prix at Mesa, Michael Phelps quickly re-established himself as a factor on the national and international stages. At the 2014 Phillips 66 National Championships, he logged the fastest time in the world in the 100m fly this year – 51.17 – in the prelims and grabbed second in the 100m fly and 200m IM to earn his ticket to the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, his fourth career Pan Pacs appearance. In Australia, Phelps led the Team USA men with five medals – three gold and two silver. Individually, he surged past the field on the second 50 to win gold in the 100m fly in 51.29 and took silver in the 200m IM in 1:56.04 – just two hundredths of a second away from gold. In relay action, he won gold in the 4x200m free and 4x100m medley relays and silver in the 4x100m free.
RELAY PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
WOMEN’S 4X200M FREE RELAY, 2014 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS – In just her second career international relay, Katie Ledecky anchored the Americans to gold in the 4x200m free relay at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. Shannon Vreeland (1:57.89), Missy Franklin (1:56.12) and Leah Smith (1:58.03) kept Team USA within striking distance of the host Australians, and Ledecky entered the pool for the anchor leg just 1.2 seconds off the pace. She quickly made up the difference over the first 100 meters, and continued to pull away from Australia’s Melanie Schlanger over the final 100 to give Team USA the win in 7:46.40, good for a meet record. Ledecky’s 1:54.36 split was more than a second faster than any other swimmer in the event.
COACH OF THE YEAR
BRUCE GEMMELL – An assistant coach for Team USA at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, Bruce Gemmell guided Katie Ledecky and Andrew Gemmell to a combined six gold medals at Pan Pacs at distances ranging from 200 meters to 10 kilometers. In his second season at Nation’s Capital, Gemmell continued to push Ledecky to new heights at a variety of distances. She won gold in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyles at Pan Pacs; anchored the 4x200m free relay to gold; and in the process became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at the event. On back-to-back nights, she set world records in the 400m and 1500m free at Pan Pacs to cap a stretch of five world-record swims over a two-month period this summer. At Nationals, Ledecky topped the podium in the 200m, 400m and 800m free to earn her spot on the Pan Pacs roster. Andrew Gemmell meanwhile overcame a change of venue – from Australia to Hawaii – and a week-long postponement to win gold in the men’s open water 10K at Pan Pacs after taking the top spot at Open Water Nationals earlier in the summer.
PERSEVERANCE AWARD
OPEN WATER GOLD MEDALISTS: HALEY ANDERSON & ANDREW GEMMELL – Open water swimmers are known for dealing with tough and unpredictable conditions, and Olympians Haley Anderson and Andrew Gemmell did just that this summer when water quality issues forced a dramatic change to the schedule for the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. Not only was the event delayed a week, it was shifted from Australia to Hawaii where it was contested alongside the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. The change in venue did little to deter Anderson and Gemmell, who each touched first to win gold in their respective 10-kilometer events. Gemmell pulled away late to win the men’s race going away, while Anderson out-touched teammate Eva Fabian to take the women’s title.
BREAKOUT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
MAYA DIRADO – A member of the U.S. roster for the 2013 FINA World Championships, Maya DiRado continued her ascent with Team USA this summer by claiming her first individual appearances on an international podium. At the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, she claimed gold in the 200m IM and silver in the 400m IM with times of 2:09.93 and 4:35.37, respectively. DiRado overtook the race leaders over the final 50 to earn the win in the 200m IM and touched second to teammate Elizabeth Beisel in the 400m IM to give Team USA a one-two sweep. At the Phillips 66 Nationals, DiRado took second in the 200m IM and 400m IM, and she added national titles in both IM events at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
MALE RACE OF THE YEAR
CONNOR JAEGER – 1500M FREE, 2014 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS – Connor Jaeger claimed his first career international gold medal with a late surge in the 1500m free at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. Throughout much of the race Canada’s Ryan Cochrane paced a group of six swimmers, including Jaeger, in contention for the victory. Jaeger made his move over the final 150 meters and grabbed the lead for the first time with 100 meters to go. Over the final 50, he held off a hard-charging Cochrane to win his first of three medals at Pan Pacs, touching in 14:51.79.
FEMALE RACE OF THE YEAR
KATIE LEDECKY – 1500M FREE, 2014 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS – Katie Ledecky set her second world record in as many nights, breaking her own mark in the 1500m free by nearly six seconds at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships with a time of 15:28.36. After posting incredibly consistent splits over the first 1450 meters, she closed with a final 50-meter split of 28.99 to put an emphasis on the record-setting swim. Ledecky finished 27 seconds – and more than 40 meters – ahead of the field. With the win, Ledecky became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championships.
Special thanks to USA Swimming for contributing to this report.