USA Swimming is preparing for the 2015 Golden Goggles Awards and are beginning to release the nominees for the 2015 Awards. The Golden Goggles Awards are presented by the USA Swimming Foundation every year to celebrate the top swimmers and coaches’ achievements over the last year.
There are eight categories: Breakout Performer of the Year, Coach of the Year, Perseverance Award, Relay Performance of the Year, Male Performance of the Year, Female Performance of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, and Female Athlete of the Year.
USA Swimming announced that Bob Bowman, Bruce Gemmell, Dave Kelsheimer, David Marsh, and Catherine Vogt are the nominees for the Coach Of The Year award. The award is given to the coach whose athlete(s) performed at the highest level throughout the year, with special emphasis on the 2015 FINA World Championships.
BOB BOWMAN – ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY/NORTH BALTIMORE AQUATIC CLUB – Newly named 2016 U.S. Olympic Team men’s head coach Bob Bowman, who recently took over as the head coach at Arizona State University, continued to guide his athletes to national- and international-level success in 2015. Eighteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps posted world’s fastest times in the 100m fly, 200m fly and the 200 IM for 2015 at the Phillip 66 National Championships, while Allison Schmitt won gold and set a meet record in the 200m free at the Pan American Games before also winning a national title in San Antonio. Chase Kalisz reached the podium under Bowman in the 400m IM at the 2015 World Championships with a bronze-medal finish.
BRUCE GEMMELL – NATION’S CAPITAL SWIM CLUB – A Team USA assistant coach at the FINA World Championships, Bruce Gemmell once again guided Katie Ledecky to a remarkable season in 2015. She dominated in Kazan, capturing five gold medals and setting three world records in eight days. In the process, she became the first swimmer to win the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle at the same FINA World Championships. Ledecky eclipsed her own world record in the 800m free and twice clipped her world-best mark in the 1500m free. Gemmell’s son Andrew added to the NCAP medal haul with a silver medal in the 1500m free at the Pan American Games. Gemmell is a two-time Golden Goggle Award winner (2013, 2014).
DAVE KELSHEIMER – TEAM SANTA MONICA – Dave Kelsheimer, CEO and head coach of Team Santa Monica, led USA Swimming National Team member Jordan Wilimovsky to a breakout 2015 season in open water and pool competitions. Under Kelsheimer’s guidance, Wilimovsky won gold and qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team in the open water 10-kilometer event at the FINA World Championships and added national titles in the open water 10K and 1500m free in the pool. Kelsheimer was an assistant coach for the U.S. open water swimmers in Kazan.
DAVID MARSH – SWIMMAC CAROLINA – Recently named the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team women’s head coach, David Marsh led SwimMAC Carolina’s Team Elite to a banner year in 2015. An assistant coach for Team USA at the 2015 FINA World Championships, Marsh guided Ryan Lochte (gold, 200m IM), Cammile Adams (silver, 200m fly) and Micah Lawrence (silver, 200m breast) to individual medals in Kazan, and Lochte paced the U.S. men at Worlds with four total medals. At the Pan American Games, Marsh-coached Katie Meili won gold in the 100m breast and Kate Mills added silver in the 200m fly. He coached 11 athletes to spots on the 2015-16 USA Swimming National Team.
CATHERINE VOGT – TROJAN SWIM CLUB/USC – Team USA’s open water head coach at the 2015 FINA World Championships, Catherine Vogt led the U.S. squad to its first team open water team title since 1991 in Kazan. Three podium appearances, including gold medals from Haley Anderson and Jordan Wilimovksy and a silver from Alex Meyer, coupled with 11 top-10 finishes throughout the open water competition led to a meet-best 108 points for Team USA. Italy finished second with 99 points. Individually, Vogt coached Anderson to her second straight 5-kilometer world title and a ninth-place finish in the 10K to earn a berth on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. On the collegiate front, Vogt helped lead the USC men and women to top-eight finishes at the NCAA Championships for the fifth consecutive year.
Online voting for the 2015 Golden Goggles awards is open here.
