Swimming World Magazine Announces European Swimmers of the Year

Each year Swimming World Magazine selects the top male and female swimmers from the following regions: Africa, the Pacific Rim, Europe, America, and World.

Two days ago Swimming World began announcing the top athletes in each region leading up to the announcement of the Male and Female World Swimmer of the Year on December 1st. The final announcement will coincide with the official release of the December Swimming World Magazine. To download and read previous “Swimmers of the Year”, visit the Swimming World Vault and download past December issues.

Male European Swimmer of the Year

As impressive as Adam Peaty’s performances were last year when he won Male World Swimmer of the Year honors—becoming the first British man ever to win the award—he took his game to another level in 2016!

Peaty arrived in Rio as the defending world champion in the men’s 100 meter breast and the only man ever to break the 58-second barrier in the event. He was undoubtedly the favorite, but few could have imagined he would turn in such a dominant performance.

In his very first Olympic swim in prelims, Peaty demolished his own world record, dropping it from 57.92 (April 17, 2015) to 57.55. He then topped the semifinals in 57.62 before clocking an almost-unthinkable 57.13. Peaty beat silver medalist Cameron van der Burgh by 1.56 seconds—a margin by which no man had won a 100-meter Olympic event since FINA began measuring times to the hundredth of a second in 1972.

After a few days off, Peaty returned to the Olympic Aquatic Center for the 400 medley relay, where he split 56.59 on the breaststroke leg, the fastest in the field by two seconds and—by far—the top split in history.

For his complete mastery of one event, Peaty earns Male European Swimmer of the Year honors. He becomes the first man to win the award three consecutive years since West Germany’s Michael Gross won five straight from 1982 to 1986. Aside from Gross, only Pieter van den Hoogenband (four times) has won the award more than Peaty.

Peaty does not turn 22 until Dec. 28, making him the youngest of Swimming World’s male award winners. The scariest part: his prime may yet be to come.

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Female European Swimmer of the Year

In her fourth Olympic Games since breaking onto the international scene, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu finally accomplished every Olympian’s dream: to win an Olympic medal. Hosszu delivered gold-medal performances in the 200 and 400 IM, along with a win in the 100 backstroke.

The 27-year-old added a silver to her Olympic medal collection after being outtouched by the USA’s Maya DiRado in the 200 back.

Hosszu earned her third title of Swimming World’s Female European Swimmer of the Year, joining three-time winners Inge de Bruijn of The Netherlands (1999-2001) and Federica Pellegrini of Italy (2009-11). Hungary’s Kristina Egerszegi has been named Fe- male European Swimmer of the Year five times (1990-1992 as well as 1988 and 1989 after Swimming World stripped the East German women of their titles for using performance-enhancing drugs).

Hosszu completed 2016 ranked among the top 10 in the world in five events: 200 IM (first, 2:06.58), 400 IM (first, 4:26.36 world record), 100 back (first, 58.45), 200 back (second, 2:06.03) and 400 free (ninth, 4:04.96). After garnering the long course 400 IM world record, Hosszu became the sole owner of the world records in all five individual medley events (both SCM and LC).

The Hungarian Olympian capped off 2016 with her fifth straight high-point win in the FINA World Cup tour, earning $387,000 in prize money.

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