2016 GOLDEN GOGGLES AWARDS
- November 21st, 2016
- Awards presentation begins at 6:30 Eastern Time
- New York City, New York
- Live Stream here
Lovingly referred to as “swimmer prom,” the 2016 USA Swimming Golden Goggles Awards are scheduled for Monday, November 21st as the best in American swimming over the last year are honored.
The event always takes on a special meaning in an Olympic year, and this year was a particularly momentous one. Michael Phelps looked like Michael Phelps for the first time this decade; Katie Ledecky proclaimed herself the best female swimmer (of her generation? ever?); Simone Manuel broke barriers by becoming the first black woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal; and Team USA rebounded from a lackluster 2015 to have a historically-good Olympic performance (thanks in large part to the three swimmers mentioned above). Remember also that 4 members of the Olympic team won’t be present as part of a suspension handed out as the result of an alcohol-fueled incident in the wee hours of the Rio morning the night after the swimming portion of the Games concluded. None of the 4 were nominated for an award individually, though one, Jimmy Feigen, participated in a nominated relay as a prelims-only swimmer.
Honors to be handed out on Monday, as voted upon in part by swimming fans around the world, include:
- Breakout Performer of the Year
- Perseverance Award
- Coach of the Year
- Relay Performance of the Year
- Female Race of the Year
- Male Race of the Year
- Female Athlete of the Year
- Male Athlete of the Year
In the event you’ve forgotten, here is the official SwimSwam ballot for the honors, which represent our votes but not necessarily our predictions.
RELAY PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – MEN’S 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY
Although the men’s medley relay took gold in Olympic Record fashion, they were considered safer bets to win. However, after an entire quad of handwringing about the state of USA men’s swimming, Team USA put together a squad of two veterans (Nathan Adrian and Michael Phelps) and two youngsters (Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Held) that overcame the French and other teams to take back Olympic gold after settling for silver in 2012.
