2015 Swammy Awards: Michael Phelps, U.S. Male Swimmer of the Year

Check out all of our 2015 Swammy Awards here.

2015 U.S. Male Swimmer of the Year Michael Phelps

After coming out of retirement in 2014, Michael Phelps followed up a so-so season with a DUI arrest that brought the most decorated Olympian in history to an all-time low. After going through rehab and leaving his past demons behind him, Phelps now appears better than ever, and it showed this past summer at the U.S. National Championships.

#Phelps (photo: Mike Lewis, Ola Vista Photography)

After being removed from the U.S. World Championship roster, Phelps set his eyes on the National Championships in San Antonio as his top swimming priority for 2015. Many were skeptical of Phelps heading into the meet, as his in-season swims hadn’t been anything special. However, once he hit the water in San Antonio, we knew the old Phelps was back.

Phelps exploded in his first final, winning the 200 fly, an event he had sworn off just a year prior, in a blazing 1:52.94, faster than the winning time at the World Championships. He then came into the 100 fly final with extra motivation after some choice words from rival Chad Le Clos who had won the world title in the event earlier that day in a very fast 50.56. Phelps executed his race perfectly, coming home in 26.35 to post a 50.45, again a time that would’ve won the world title in Kazan. Not only did Phelps post the top time in the world in the butterfly events, his emotion post-race was something we hadn’t seem from him since his world record 100 fly swim in 2009 when he took out previous rival Milorad Cavic.

Phelps continued his dominant meet winning the 200 IM in a time of 1:54.75, over a full second ahead of Ryan Lochte’s world title winning time in Kazan. Phelps finished off his meet with a surprising 5th place finish in the 200 breast, easily one of his worst events.

Phelps has continued the momentum heading into next year, posting wins in the 100 fly (51.38), 200 fly (1:56.11) and 200 IM (1:57.61) at the U.S. Winter Nationals at the beginning of December.

Honorable Mention

In no particular order:

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  Silver medalist Connor Jaeger (USA) broke the American Record with 14:41.20 in the final of men’s 1500m freestyle on Day 8 of 2015 FINA World Championships (courtesy of Tim Binning, theswimpictures.com)

  Connor Jaeger: After making the 1500m Olympic final in 2012, Jaeger has steadily been making progress and has established himself as one of the best distance swimmers in the world, and he proved himself big time this summer. At the World Championships swimming right on his best times in the 400 and 800 freestyle earned Jaeger a pair of 4th place finishes, so he stepped up in a big way in the 1500. With an absent Sun Yang, Jaeger broke through, winning the silver medal in a time of 14:41.20, a best time by over 6 seconds and an American record by over 4, erasing Larsen Jensen’s mark of 14:45.29 from 2004. Jaeger then claimed his second American record in the 1500 at the Duel in the Pool (25m), defeating long course world champion Gregorio Paltrinieri in 14:19.29 and erasing Erik Vendt’s previous American record of 14:31.02 by over 10 seconds.

• Ryan Lochte: In a year that might not have been all that it could have for Ryan Lochte, he still was a star for the U.S. as he always is. After a somewhat disappointing 2014 left him with only the 200 free and 200 IM to swim individually at the World Championships, Lochte had a strong showing heading into the Olympic year. He won his record 4th straight world title in the 200 IM, and won another 3 medals (2 gold, 1 silver) on relays. He also finished 4th in the loaded 200 free. We also saw some strong performances from him at the recent Duel in the Pool, including a win in the 400 IM (an event he has rarely swum since London 2012), and getting disqualified after winning the 200 IM for a rule infraction that has now been unofficially named after him for an underwater kicking technique he started using over the summer.