2025 Golden Goggle Awards
- September 27, 2025
- Denver, Colorado
- SwimSwam Official Ballot
- Awards Recap
The 2025 Golden Goggle Awards took place this past weekend in Denver, Colorado. The US National Team was in attendance, and even got in some training at the Olympic Training Center before the Awards. See some of the content posted to social media by the National Team below. Some athletes even went to a petting zoo.
@regansmith40 SMOOTHIE TIME AT OTC ❤️💖💅🏼🥰🤑🥀🤣
@regansmith40 What a transformative experience❤️ #grateful @Katharine Berkoff
@regansmith40 Team USA fit check
@skylerasmithhh Such a fun day at the OTC! #swimming #usotc #otc #fyp #travelwithme
@foxjnattyenc Trying to make little Caroline proud 🫶🏻 #swimmer
@foxjnattyenc It’s tough out here @skyler smith 😓 #swimmer #studentathlete #teamusa
♬ This Is The Life Demo Hannah Montana – out of context hannah montana
@foxjnattyenc xoxo, you fav distance and sprint duo 🤩💋 @kate
@arabellagsims
@arabellagsims GG 2025 #swimming
@arabellagsims Get unready with me from Golden Goggles #swimming #goldengoggles #usaswimming
@anna_peplowski A little birthday travel day to the OTC🌟 #otc #teamusa #swim #olympian #nationalteam
@anna_peplowski Join us for this chaotic gear haul #teamusa
@Braden Keith, it’s interesting that USA Swimming has given full access to that pod “Un*iltered Wa*ers” and front row to their events lately (since after Paris).
They even interviewed the new CEO while at Golden Googles. Is this USAS new strategy of picking “media” that will agree to everything they’re told to do ?
We’ve also seen swimmers do podcasts with them, when they know none of them will be asked hard questions. They’re just there to have fun time and laugh and giggle with Hoff and Franklin.
Some of these swimmers won’t do interviews with Swimswam at all.
What is even worse is that Franklin and Hoff were also presenters while according to Braden’s tweet, a SwimSwam representative appears to have been put in a separate room with a live feed that eventually broke. The new CEO should have a real interview with outlets such as SwimSwam and as the main media for swimming, should always have access to key events. I find it hard to believe that they couldn’t have a chair or small table at the back of the room.
Unfiltered waters is captive media. They’re on the payroll and told what they can and cannot talk to athletes about, and they have to heavily moderate comments on YT/Instagram.
Most of their videos only get 8-10 comments, so moderating them isn’t a difficult task.
I enjoy listening to UW, but I am starting to think that they may be captive media not just for USA Swimming, but for USA Track & Field too. They had Gabby Thomas on a few weeks ago and they talked about everything but antidoping, which G. Thomas claims to be so passionate about…
If it wasn’t for the athletes I’d have no clue it was going on, and there wasn’t even any (generally speaking) athletes posting about it either. Nobody truly gave a shit
I like how some clearly didn’t bother to go
Why would they its completely pointless
Who didn’t go from the National Team?
I could be wrong but I don’t think Casas or Foster went
Have we learned nothing about petting zoos
Nope!
Literally my first thought
Yeah don’t rely on assumptions or fear
Yeah and I didn’t know there was a social media at the ceremony