Golden Goggles Early Voting Update: Phelps, Ledecky Lead 2 Each

With the 2016 Golden Goggles approaching, swimming fans have been asked to vote online for their favorites in each of the award categories. While the voting is open until November, SwimSwam has put together an analysis of the voting up to this point so readers can see who holds the early lead.

Breakout Performer of the Year

Lilly King currently leads the polls as the fan-favorite Breakout Performer of the Year. King made her first Olympic team this summer, going on the win gold in the 100 breast for Team USA. She currently holds over half (51%) of the votes.

1. Lilly King– 3,716 votes (51%)
2. Leah Smith– 1,417 votes (19%)
3. Cody Miller– 1,413 votes (19%)
4. Josh Prenot– 733 votes (10%)

Perserverance Award

Anthony Ervin and Kathleen Baker are the early front-runners for the Perserverance Award. In Rio, Ervin pulled off an upset to win gold in the 50 free, while Baker made her first Olympic team and picked up a silver in the 100 back. Ervin currently holds 35% of the votes, giving him a slight edge over Baker.

1. Anthony Ervin– 2,712 votes (35%)
2. Kathleen Baker– 2,490 votes (32%)
3. Dana Vollmer– 1,354 votes (17%)
4. David Plummer– 1,212 votes (16%)

Coach of the Year

Bob Bowman has jumped out to a clear lead in the Coach of the Year category, as he currently has 43% of the vote. Bowman was the head coach of the men’s U.S. Olympic Team, and had 3 of his NBAC club swimmers (Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt, and Cierra Runge) win gold in Rio.

1. Bob Bowman- 2,925 votes (43%)
2. Dave Durden- 1,160 votes (17%)
3. David Marsh- 845 votes (12%)
4. Bruce Gemmell- 804 votes (12%)
5. Greg Meehan- 656 votes (10%)
6. Ray Looze- 460 votes (7%)

Relay Performance of the Year

The Relay Performance of the Year category is very close at this point, with the women’s 4×200 free relay leading by just 1% of the vote.

1. Women’s 4×200 free relay- 3,213 votes (36%)
2. Men’s 4×100 free relay- 3,125 votes (35%)
3. Men’s 4×100 medley relay- 2,629 votes (29%)

Female Race of the Year

The early fan favorite for Female Race of the Year is Katie Ledecky‘s dominant gold medal performance in the 800 meter freestyle, during which she finished over 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

1. Katie Ledecky, 800m free, 2016 Olympics- 3,532 votes (44%)
2. Maya DiRado, 200m backstroke, 2016 Olympics- 1,889 votes (24%)
3. Simone Manuel, 100m free, 2016 Olympics- 1,873 votes (23%)
4. Lilly King, 100m breast, 2016 Olympics- 730 votes (9%)

Male Race of the Year

Michael Phelps‘ 200 fly has garnered the most support so far, with 41% of the votes for Male Race of the Year. In Rio, Phelps win his first individual gold of the meet in this race after it came down to a photo finish.

1. Michael Phelps, 200m fly, 2016 Olympics- 3,544 votes (41%)
2. Anthony Ervin, 50m free, 2016 Olympics- 1,960 votes (22%)
3. Ryan Murphy, 100m back, 2016 Olympics- 1,655 votes (19%)
4. Michael Phelps, 200m IM, 2016 Olympics- 1,581 votes (18%)

Female Athlete of the Year

Katie Ledecky has picked up 73% of the votes so far for the Female Athlete of the Year award. Ledecky swept her individual events in Rio, picking up gold in the 200-800 freestyles. She also earned a gold and a silver as a part of the 800 and 400 free relays respectively.

1. Katie Ledecky– 5,764 votes (73%)
2. Maya DiRado– 1,146 votes (15%)
3. Simone Manuel– 989 votes (13%)

Male Athlete of the Year

Michael Phelps is the frontrunner for Male Athlete of the Year, currently holding 62% of the votes. In his final Olympic Games Phelps won 5 gold medals, bringing his career gold total to 23. He also became the first swimmer in history to win an event across 4 straight Olympics with his gold in the 200 IM.

1. Michael Phelps– 5,664 votes (62%)
2. Nathan Adrian– 1,829 votes (20%)
3. Ryan Murphy– 1,264 votes (14%)
4. Anthony Ervin– 442 votes (5%)

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