The Golden Goggle Awards, presented by the USA Swimming Foundation, is an awards ceremony which recognizes and honors the accomplishments of swimmers who represented the United States, that is USA Swimming National Team members, over the last year. The awards were established in 2004 with the first awards ceremony held in November of the same year in New York City. There are eight main categories: Breakout Performer of the Year, Coach of the Year, Perseverance Award, Relay Performance of the Year, Male Race of the Year, Female Race of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, and Female Athlete of the Year."Golden Goggle Awards". USA Swimming. Retrieved September 24, 2021. Nominees in each category are announced in advance of the awards ceremony and recipients of each award are revealed at the ceremony itself."2018 Golden Goggle Award Nominees". USA Swimming. September 26, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2021. Winners for each award are determined by a selection panel and fan votes."Lochte, Franklin win Golden Goggle awards". Deseret News. November 20, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2021. The awards ceremony serves as a fundraiser for the foundation, with seats and tables available for purchase and proceeds going to the foundation and other humanitarian efforts such as aid relief for those affected by Hurricane Katrina."Nominees Announced for Second Golden Goggle Awards". Swimming World. September 23, 2005. Retrieved October 10, 2021. The dress code for attendees is black tie. Localities hosting the annual ceremony vary and include cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Ceremony locations 2004: New York City 2005: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City 2006: Beverly Hills, California 2007: The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California 2008: New York Hilton, New York City"Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin Win Top Honors at the USA Swimming Foundations Golden Goggle Awards". Swimming World. November 17, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2009: The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California 2010: New York City 2011: Los Angeles 2012: Marriott Marquis, New York City"Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin Win Athletes of the Year at Golden Goggles". Swimming World. November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2013: JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, Los Angeles 2014: New York City 2015: Los Angeles 2016: New York City 2017: Los AngelesBrien, Taylor (November 19, 2017). "2017 Golden Goggles Coverage". Swimming World. Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2018: New York City 2019: Los Angeles 2020: VirtualKeith, Braden (September 9, 2020). "USA Swimming's Virtual 2020 Golden Goggles Will Honor 1980 Olympic Team". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2021: Faena Hotel Miami Beach, MiamiSutherland, James (September 10, 2021). "USA Swimming's Golden Goggles Awards Heads To Miami On December 7". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 10, 2021."Olympic Stars Headline USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards Nominees". USA Swimming. October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 2022: Marriott Marquis, New York City (host: Ahmed Fareed)"2022 Golden Goggles: Official Program". USA Swimming. 2022. November 21, 2022.USA Swimming (November 21, 2022). "2022 Golden Goggles Awards | Full Show". YouTube. November 21, 2022. 2023: Los Angeles, California 2024: Indianapolis 2025: Denver, Colorado 2026: Denver, Colorado
Awards Male Athlete of the Year
2004: Michael Phelps 2005: Aaron Peirsol"Men's Swimming cleans up at second annual Golden Goggle Awards". Texas Longhorns. November 15, 2005. Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2006: Brendan Hansen 2007: Michael Phelps"Golden Goggles Event Honors Top American Swimmers". Swimming World. November 19, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2008: Michael Phelps 2009: Ryan Lochte"Ryan Lochte, Rebecca Soni Win Top Honors at the USA Swimming Foundation Golden Goggle Awards". Swimming World. November 23, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2021. 2010: Ryan LochteKeith, Braden (November 23, 2010). "And The Award Goes To… Recapping The 2010 Golden Goggles". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 2, 2021. 2011: Ryan Lochte 2012: Michael Phelps 2013: Ryan Lochte 2014: Michael Phelps"Phelps wins Golden Goggle as Male Athlete of Year". Reuters. November 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2015: Michael Phelps 2016: Michael Phelps"Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky lead Golden Goggle winners". NBC Sports. November 22, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2017: Caeleb Dressel 2018: Ryan MurphyRoss, Andy (November 19, 2018). "2018 Golden Goggles: Katie Ledecky, Ryan Murphy Win Athlete of the Year Awards". Swimming World. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2019: Caeleb Dressel 2020: Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021: Caeleb Dressel 2022: Bobby Finke 2023: Ryan Murphy 2024: Bobby Finke 2025: Luca Urlando 2026: Van Mathias
Female Athlete of the Year
2004: Natalie Coughlin 2005: Katie Hoff 2006: Katie Hoff 2007: Katie Hoff 2008: Natalie Coughlin 2009: Rebecca Soni 2010: Rebecca Soni"Soni Named USA Swimming's Female Athlete Of The Year". USC Trojans. November 23, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2021. 2011: Missy Franklin 2012: Missy FranklinWilson, Jenny (November 19, 2012). "Golden Goggles: Award Winners". SwimSwam. Retrieved October 2, 2021. 2013: Katie Ledecky 2014: Katie Ledecky 2015: Katie Ledecky"Ledecky wins 3 trophies; Phelps earns 1 at Golden Goggles". Sports Illustrated. November 23, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2016: Katie Ledecky 2017: Katie Ledecky 2018: Katie Ledecky"Katie Ledecky and Ryan Murphy win Golden Goggles awards". Olympics.com. November 20, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2019: Simone Manuel 2020: Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021: Katie Ledecky 2022: Katie Ledecky 2023: Katie Ledecky / Kate Douglass 2024: Torri Huske 2025: Katie Ledecky 2026: Kate Douglass
Breakout Performer of the Year
2004: Larsen Jensen 2005: Jessica Hardy 2006: Cullen Jones"USA Honors Its Elite at Golden Goggles". Swimming World. November 20, 2006. Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2007: Ben Wildman-Tobriner 2008: Rebecca Soni 2009: Tyler Clary 2010: Missy Franklin 2011: Alex Meyer 2012: Katie Ledecky 2013: Chase Kalisz"And The Winners Are… 2013 Golden Goggle Awards Outcomes". SwimSwam. November 24, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2021."Kalisz, Vreeland, Romano Earn Golden Goggles". Georgia Bulldogs. November 26, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2021. 2014: Maya DiRadoMarsteller, Jason (November 24, 2014). "Big Winners In New York at Golden Goggles". Swimming World. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2015: Jordan Wilimovsky 2016: Lilly King"Phelps and Ledecky top winners at Golden Goggle Awards". FINA. November 22, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2017: Mallory ComerfordAnderson, Jared (November 20, 2017). "Full 2017-2018 Golden Goggles Winners List". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2018: Michael Andrew 2019: Regan Smith 2020: Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021: Lydia JacobyGriswold, Molly (December 7, 2021). "2021 Golden Goggle Award Winners". Swimming World. Retrieved December 7, 2021. 2022: Leah Hayes 2023: Jack Alexy 2024: Gretchen Walsh 2025: Not awarded 2026: McKenzie Siroky
Coach of the Year
2004: Bob Bowman 2005: Eddie Reese 2006: Eddie Reese 2007: Bob Bowman 2008: Bob Bowman 2009: Eddie Reese 2010: Gregg Troy 2011: Gregg Troy 2012: Bob Bowman 2013: Bruce Gemmell 2014: Bruce Gemmell 2015: Bruce Gemmell 2016: Dave DurdenKeith, Braden (November 21, 2016). "2016 USA Swimming Golden Goggles Awards: Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2017: Greg Meehan 2018: Greg Meehan 2019: Mike Parratto 2020: Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021: Gregg Troy 2022: Anthony Nesty 2023: Dave Durden 2024: Todd Desorbo 2025: Todd Desorbo 2026: Todd Desorbo
Relay Performance of the Year 2004: Women's 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay at Olympic Games (Natalie Coughlin, Carly Piper, Dana Vollmer, Kaitlin Sandeno) 2005: Women's 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay at World Championships (Natalie Coughlin, Katie Hoff, Whitney Myers, Kaitlin Sandeno) 2006: Men's 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay at Pan Pacific Championships (Michael Phelps, Neil Walker, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak) 2007: Men's 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay at World Championships (Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Klete Keller, Peter Vanderkaay) 2008: Men's 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay at Olympic Games (Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak) 2009: Men's 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay at World Championships (Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Matt Grevers, Nathan Adrian) 2010: Women's 4 × 100 meter medley relay at Pan Pacific Championships (Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer, Jessica Hardy) 2011: Women's 4 × 100 meter medley relay at World Championships (Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer, Missy Franklin) 2012: Women's 4 × 100 meter medley relay at Olympic Games (Missy Franklin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer, Allison Schmitt) 2013: Women's 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay at World Championships (Missy Franklin, Natalie Coughlin, Shannon Vreeland, Megan Romano) 2014: Women's 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay at Pan Pacific Swimming Championships (Shannon Vreeland, Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, Katie Ledecky) 2015: Women's 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay at World Championships (Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, Katie McLaughlin, Katie Ledecky) 2016: Men's 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay at Olympic Games (Caeleb Dressel, Michael Phelps, Ryan Held, Nathan Adrian)Griffus, Annette (November 21, 2016). "Adrian, 4x100 free win Relay Performance of the Year at Golden Goggles". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved September 24, 2021. 2017: Women's 4 x 100 meter medley relay at World Championships (Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Kelsi Worrell, Simone Manuel) 2018: Men's 4 × 100 meter medley relay at Pan Pacific Swimming Championships (Ryan Murphy, Andrew Wilson, Caeleb Dressel, Nathan Adrian) 2019: Women's 4 x 100 meter medley relay at World Championships (Regan Smith, Lilly King, Kelsi Dahlia, Simone Manuel) 2020: Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021: Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at Olympic Games (Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple) 2022: Women's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay at World Championships (Claire Weinstein, Leah Smith, Katie Ledecky, Bella Sims) 2023: Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at World Championships (Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass) 2024: Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at Olympic Games (Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske) 2025: Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at World Championships (Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske) 2026: Mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relay at Pan Pacific Swimming Championships (Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass)
Male Race of the Year 2004: Michael Phelps for 100 meter butterfly at Olympic Games 2005: Ian Crocker for 100 meter butterfly at World Championships"Olympian Ian Crocker Visits Salvation Army's Camp Sebago". The Salvation Army. July 11, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2021. 2006: Michael Phelps for 200 meter individual medley at Pan Pacific Championships 2007: Michael Phelps for 200 meter butterfly at World Championships 2008: Michael Phelps for 100 meter butterfly at Olympic Games 2009: Michael Phelps for 100 meter butterfly at World Championships 2010: Ryan Lochte for 200 meter individual medley at Pan Pacific Championships 2011: Ryan Lochte for 200 meter individual medley at World Championships 2012: Nathan Adrian for 100 meter freestyle at Olympic Games 2013: Ryan Lochte for 200 meter individual medley at World Championships 2014: Connor Jaeger for 1500 meter freestyle at Pan Pacific Championships 2015: Jordan Wilimovsky for 10 km at World Championships 2016: Michael Phelps for 200 meter butterfly at Olympic Games 2017: Caeleb Dressel for 100 meter butterfly at World Championships 2018: Ryan Murphy for 100 meter backstroke at Pan Pacific Championships 2019: Caeleb Dressel for 100 meter butterfly at World Championships 2020: Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic