Each year Swimming World Magazine selects the top male and female swimmers for the following regions: Africa, the Pacific Rim, Europe, America, and World. Starting today, Swimming World will announce the top athletes in each region leading up to the announcement of the Male and Female World Swimmers of the Year on December 1st.
Male Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year Sponsored by Competitor
Although the Australian women have held onto the Female Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year award with an iron fist since Swimming World began awarding it 21 years ago, their men have actually had a rough time since Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett ruled the roost Down Under.
This year, let’s just say the timing was right for Australia to end its 10-year drought of not winning the award:
• Japan’s Kosuke Hagino, the 2014 Male World and Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year, had his season cut short after he broke his elbow in a biking accident prior to Worlds, thereby forcing him to withdraw from the meet.
• China’s Sun Yang, the 2013 Male World and Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year, swam well at this year’s World Championships, winning two gold medals and a silver. However, it’s possible that Sun’s positive drug test in May 2014—which was not reported for six months—influenced this year’s SOY voting.
That left the door wide open for Aussie Mitch Larkin to snatch this year’s Male Pacific Rim award…and deservedly so.
At Kazan, Larkin, 22, swept the 100 and 200 meter backstroke events. He beat France’s Camille Lacourt in the 100, 52.40 to 52.48, and posted an Oceanic record in the 200 in 1:53.58 to win by a full second over Poland’s Radoslaw Kawecki (1:54.55). Larkin also helped Australia to a silver medal in the men’s 400 medley relay.
In November, Larkin added two Commonwealth records to his 2015 resumé: 100 and 200 back, 52.11 and 1:53.17, at the World Cup in Dubai.
Female Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year Sponsored by Competitor
For years, Australia’s Emily Seebohm had her sights set on America’s Missy Franklin. Beat her, and Seebohm believed she would be considered the best women’s backstroker in the world.
She did just that last year in the 100 meter backstroke at Pan Pacs with a world-leading 58.84 (Franklin finished third in 1:00.30). She also beat Franklin in the 200 by placing second in 2:07.61. However, Franklin had suffered a back injury shortly before the meet, so the jury was still out.
This year, there no longer was any doubt: the 23-year-old Australian swam lights-out at the FINA World Championships and earned Swimming World’s Female Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year honors. In addition to winning both the 100 and 200 back, she also helped Australia to a gold medal in the women’s 400 free relay and a bronze in the medley relay.
In the 100 back at Kazan, Seebohm topped fellow Australian, Madison Wilson, 58.26 to 58.75, and nearly broke her own national record of 58.23 from 2012. She then overtook Franklin down the stretch in the 200 back to win, 2:05.81 to 2:06.34, setting an Australian record in the process. Seebohm trailed Franklin by more than a second at the 150 (1:33.36 to 1:34.67), but threw down an epic 31.14 final split for the victory. Seebohm also took fourth in the 50 back (27.66).
With Seebohm’s SOY honors, Australian women have won the award every year since its inception in 1995 except for three: 1996 (China’s Le Jingyi) and 2011-12 (China’s Ye Shiwen).
