Floswimming is quickly becoming my favorite swimming site ever...oh, and Golden Goggles Results.
New videos up with Kaitlin Sandeno and the Texas boys having a practice set. In the video are Ian Crocker, Dave Walters, Aaron Peirsol, Ricky Berens, Sean Patton, Daniel Rohleder, Michael Klueh and many others. Hardest working team around!
Also, gotta give a big congrats to previous Q&A'er Mike Cavic for an excellent World Cup meet in Berlin this weekend where he won the 50 and 100 Butterfly. You can read the full results over on WCSN and watch video clips of the coverage. It was a really fast meet with Dara Torres setting two new American records, Randall Bal taking down a World Cup record (and sweeping the backstroke events yet again), and Nystrand, Veldhuis and Pereira all setting new world records.
Jo Fargus has been named to Queensland's Hot 40 list along with several other members of the swim team. You can see all the nominees and vote here.
And, Golden Goggle Awards tonight. You can see photos at Getty and and USA Swimming is offering a webcast available Wednesday via Sportnet.
Winners are:
Breakout Performer: Ben Wildman-Tobriner
Perseverance: Ryan Lochte
Coach of the Year: Bob Bowman
Relay Performance of the Year: The Men's 4x200 Free Relay: Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller
Female Performance of the Year: Kate Ziegler, 1500 WR at TYR
Male Performance of the Year: Michael Phelps (Ryan wuzrobbed)
Female Athlete of the Year: Katie Hoff (was sure Kate would get this one too)
Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Phelps
You know, I rarely agree with all the results and this year is no different. This was the forth year for these and not to get all political up in here, but in the four categories where the winner can be either male or female, it's only been female three times. That's 3 for 16. I'd love to have seen Margaret Hoelzer recognized for her Worlds performance and Ryan get Performance of the Year instead. And an argument could be made for the coach and women's relay team as well. Mike didn't need three awards. I realize our men's team is stronger, but the women aren't 3.5 times weaker. Just my two cents, and it's worth about that much.
Also, gotta give a big congrats to previous Q&A'er Mike Cavic for an excellent World Cup meet in Berlin this weekend where he won the 50 and 100 Butterfly. You can read the full results over on WCSN and watch video clips of the coverage. It was a really fast meet with Dara Torres setting two new American records, Randall Bal taking down a World Cup record (and sweeping the backstroke events yet again), and Nystrand, Veldhuis and Pereira all setting new world records.
Jo Fargus has been named to Queensland's Hot 40 list along with several other members of the swim team. You can see all the nominees and vote here.
And, Golden Goggle Awards tonight. You can see photos at Getty and and USA Swimming is offering a webcast available Wednesday via Sportnet.
Winners are:
Breakout Performer: Ben Wildman-Tobriner
Perseverance: Ryan Lochte
Coach of the Year: Bob Bowman
Relay Performance of the Year: The Men's 4x200 Free Relay: Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller
Female Performance of the Year: Kate Ziegler, 1500 WR at TYR
Male Performance of the Year: Michael Phelps (Ryan wuzrobbed)
Female Athlete of the Year: Katie Hoff (was sure Kate would get this one too)
Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Phelps
You know, I rarely agree with all the results and this year is no different. This was the forth year for these and not to get all political up in here, but in the four categories where the winner can be either male or female, it's only been female three times. That's 3 for 16. I'd love to have seen Margaret Hoelzer recognized for her Worlds performance and Ryan get Performance of the Year instead. And an argument could be made for the coach and women's relay team as well. Mike didn't need three awards. I realize our men's team is stronger, but the women aren't 3.5 times weaker. Just my two cents, and it's worth about that much.
Labels: Golden Goggles, Joanna "Jo" Fargus, Kaitlin Sandeno, Mike Cavic, Texas Longhorns, World Cup Berlin
posted by Michelle at
11/18/2007 07:37:00 PM
9 Comments:
I definitely agree about the Women's 2X400 Relay. They broke a world record from lane 8! They almost missed the finals. I think they we like .10 or less above the 9th team. Ina all fairness Michael had the best year of his life this year. It is interesting to me that Katie Hoff has won the same award 3 year in a row now.
I am thrilled for Kate Z. Like beyond thrilled. She had an amazing year too.
The Texas practice is crazy. Eddie is so cool, he is so present. And the Floswimming guy put some great questions up to Kaitlin.
By
lala, at 11/19/2007 1:01 AM
My two cents:
- Dara should have been nominated for, and won, the perseverence award. I mean really, what a joke to leave her off the list. But, Ryan should have been nominated for swimmer of the year last year, so I think his win was more a nod to his ignored success over the past few years. And, I think he deserved it more than Margaret. He wasn't going to win against Phelps in the best race category, and you knew they were going to acknowledge him setting a WR and taking out Peirsol's winning streak. Deservedly so, I'd say.
- But, I probably would have given Rebecca Soni the nod over Ben. They're both great candidates though, so that was a win win.
- During the presentation of nominees, the room cheered loudest for the men's 800 free relay. The women were a close 2nd, but let's be realistic here - they only won from an outside lane because their second string is enough slower that they almost didn't make it into finals.
- I think if Natalie can set 6 American Records at Worlds including 1 individual WR, she should win female athlete of the year over Katie, who set, I believe, 1 of each. If anyone was robbed, it was Nat. I think even Katie was surprised.
Brendan was conspicuously missing from the event...where art thou Brendan?
By
crackinup, at 11/19/2007 2:37 AM
I agree that Torres should have been nominated. That was a phenomenal feat; just in 2005 she was a presenter at these awards and now she's a competitor with ARs!!
Also, political correctness aside, Natalie should have gotten that award but, as usual, it's the KT show.
RE: Brendan being MIA-- Crocker was MIA too for the second year in a row.
By
Scrappy, at 11/19/2007 8:22 AM
yeah seriously why no dara??
But other than that I think that with all of the talent and success that Team USA has, its too hard to pick just 1 person as the best male/female athlete or just one performance as the best. I can understand all of the nominees and I think all of them are deserving, but in the end only one will win and everyone isn't going to be happy with the results 100% of the time, but you know that the person that did win deserved it. Whether another nominee deserved it a little more is tough to question though. That being said I think that the only two categories that there were little dispute over were Male athlete and female performance. But congratulations to everyone who won!
And congrats to Dara for breaking the american records, especially Kara Lynn Joyce's 50 free one! She had one of her high school records broken(200y free) at the meet I was at this weekend, but records are meant to be broken!
And yay for Jo...reading that article gave me another excuse to look at a picture of her! lol
By
TimTheSwimmer, at 11/19/2007 7:16 PM
I have no problems with Dara not having been nominated this year. She made all her marks in national or small international meets where the others were on an international stage in major meets. Next year is another matter. If she doesn't actually win at least perseverance she is being robbed, but she may also be nominated for a whole other race.
I feel Michael deserved the Male swimmer of the year but maybe not the race of the year. His meet in Melbourne was AMAZING. No one else even came close. I think he broke 6 World records in 2007. It is pretty obvious that the World Champs weighed heavily on the decision makers minds or else Kate Z. would have gotten female too.
By
lala, at 11/19/2007 8:32 PM
Yes, word on the street is that Worlds plays a large role in the nominations. However, I'm not sure if I agree with that as a philosophy.
Anyway, lala, by your logic, Kate Z. shouldn't have been nominated for race of the year. The 1500 record was set at a lower profile domestic meet, it still got the nod, as it should have. Great swims happen when they happen. Were Brendan's records less important because they happened at nationals? Dara's comeback came at nationals because she would have had to stage it last year to even be on this year's international squad.
But I hope you're right that Dara makes the team and gets the perseverence award next year, and maybe that's what the nominating committee is secretly thinking/waiting for. I still think that her lack of nomination contradicts the very spirit that that particular award seeks to showcase.
As for race of the year, Phelps smashed his own 200 fly record with the WR line at his FEET, and broke Thorpe's 200 free record. Boyfriend earned the sweep.
Tim's right though, this is all subjective. ;-)
By
crackinup, at 11/20/2007 12:00 AM
Kate's race was a World record. And she was named World Champion twice this year. She represented USA swimming the whole year. She has broken 4 world records this year.
Dara's race was a National Championship race, not a world record and she wasn't racing the fastest in the world. Her 50 got her to a tie for 4th in the world this year. (woot!) Her 100 ranked her 8th. Not even the fastest American. (Natalie Coughlin is tied with Libby Lenton for 1st.)
I am not saying that Dara isn't amazing and a really inspiring story. I'd like to see her get one next year. For me a couple good fast swims doesn't make you worthy of an award like this. If they had comeback of the year, I'd say give it to her hands down.
I was thrilled for her successes this year, I was there when she made history. I was on my feet too. It was the highlight of nationals. But a great story isn't enough. She wasn't a National Team member until August.
I want her to knock everyone out next year. Make the Olympic team and kick butt. And then win some awards.
Just my opinion.
I feel that if Michael was going to win for best race it should have been that 200 Free. That was completely uncalled for!
By
lala, at 11/20/2007 1:05 AM
Some might say to win the Perseverance Award you should be swimming every year and not just the Olympic ones. I'm not saying I hold that opinion myself but perhaps many on the nominating committee (whoever that may be) do.
By
Michelle, at 11/20/2007 3:05 AM
Agreed that "comeback" is the better position for what Dara achieved, but Dara's been at this level since before Ryan and Margaret were BORN. I spent 7 years in competitive swimming, quit for 12 years, then went back to masters for 3 years, and Dara Torres has been making national teams throughout that entire time. If that isn't the very definition of perseverence, I'm going to formally eliminate the word from my vocabulary.
Michelle, I've never heard accusations of Dara being an Olympic Year swimmer, have you? Amanda, arguably, but not Dara. We may not have heard about it, but she was setting records in USMS right after she gave birth in 2006. Fast swims at that level don't come out of the blue, especially not from a 40 year old, post-childbirth.
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/article/0,6176,s1-21-81-1956-1,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/sports/othersports/18torres.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2
lala, I would have picked the 200 free for Phelps as well...maybe not the "better" swim, but certainly the more meaningful record. But they were both ridiculous swims. (Sick! Ridiculous!)
By
crackinup, at 11/21/2007 1:30 AM
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