USA Swimming, the National Governing Body of the sport of swimming in the United States, saw athletes, coaches, and volunteers take home 12 awards at the 21st annual Golden Goggle Awards. The Olympic team was recognized for their individual and team accomplishments at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. USA Swimming finished the competition with 28 medals in the pool – 10 more than any other country – three world records, five Olympic records, and six American records.

The Golden Goggle Awards are USA Swimming’s annual celebration of the year’s top accomplishments by American swimmers and coaches, with this year’s focus on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The proceeds directly benefit the USA Swimming Foundation’s mission of Saving Lives, Building Champions, and Impacting Communities.

2024 USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards Winners:

• Breakout Performer of the Year: Gretchen Walsh
• Male Race of the Year: Bobby Finke, men’s 1500m freestyle
• Female Race of the Year: Torri Huske, women’s 100m butterfly
• Impact Award: Arlene McDonald
• Alumni Award: Rowdy Gaines
• USA Swimming Foundation Impact Award: Scott and Lorraine Davison
• Relay Performance of the Year: Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay - Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske
• Perseverance Award: Paige Madden
• Fran Crippen Open Water Swimmer of the Year: Katie Grimes
• Coach of the Year: Todd DeSorbo
• Male Athlete of the Year: Bobby Finke
• Female Athlete of the Year: Torri Huske
  

At the historic meet inside Lucas Oil Stadium this past summer, Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tenn./University of Virginia) qualified to swim four races for the 2024 Paris Olympic team. Between her relay and individual events, she claimed four medals, two world records, and an American record.

“I am so honored to be receiving this award tonight," said Walsh. “My swimming career has not been perfect, but moments like these and this past summer make all the setbacks worth it. Thank you to USA Swimming and USA Swimming Foundation for tonight's event and all the help this past summer.”

For the fourth year in a row, Bobby Finke (Clearwater, Fla./St. Petersburg Aquatics) took home the title of Male Race of the Year. In the final night of the Paris Games, Finke dominated the field in the men’s 1500m freestyle to set a new world record and win a gold medal. It marked his second consecutive Olympic Games where he won gold in the event.

“I just want to take a moment to thank all the amazing support I have,” said Finke. “The race itself was a lot of fun to do. The Olympics meant a lot – especially with everything going into it. The world is getting a lot faster and to be up here and represent our country is an honor.”

After placing fourth and missing the podium by .01 at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./Arlington Aquatic Club) returned with a vengeance. Huske and Walsh went gold-silver in the event and were separated by .04 seconds. The race marked the first time since 1984 where the U.S. went 1-2 in the event and was one of four where USA Swimming placed two athletes on the Paris podium. Tonight, she was awarded the Female Race of the Year award.

“Thank you so much, I did not get here alone,” said Huske. “I have a ton of people to thank, but first I want to thank all my teammates at Stanford and all the girls I train with every day. You make me so much better. Also, thank you Greg (Meehan) for everything you do. I always trust the process with you, and you make it so easy. Thank you for always having my back. Thank you, USA Swimming and USA Swimming Foundation, for making it so easy this summer. Swimmers like me only had to step up on the blocks and race and not have to think about anything else behind the scenes. Thank you for all you do.”

For her dedication to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Swimming earlier this summer, Arlene McDonald was bestowed the USA Swimming Impact Award. Her passion for providing stellar and safe events for organizations throughout the years has impacted countless athletes. Whether managing volunteers or creating once-in-a-lifetime competitive opportunities for athletes nationwide, McDonald continues to leave a legacy on the swimming community.

“One of the greatest satisfactions for me is the people we get to work with every day,” said McDonald. “It takes an amazing team, and the USA Swimming staff is incredible. Obviously, the people at (Indiana) Sports Corps are incredible, it really is the volunteer leaders that make everything work. These people dedicated the whole month of June to making the meet special.”

Known as the voice of swimming, Olympic gold medalist and swimming legend Rowdy Gaines earned another accolade as Alumni Award recipient at the 21st Golden Goggle Awards. Gaines has left his mark on the sport of swimming for more than 40 years as both an Olympic and national meet commentator, advocate for water safety and drowning prevention, and supporter of elite athlete performance.

“I just want everyone to know that we take this sport for granted,” said Gaines. “It completely changed my life, you guys. When I started swimming at 17, I was going down a pretty dark path. When I found swimming, I owe it so much. I know I screw up on the broadcast and I understand that, but I can promise you that nobody loves this sport more than I do.”

Scott and Lorainne Davison have supported the USA Swimming Foundation’s mission of Saving Lives, Building Championships, and Impacting Communities since they joined forces with USA Swimming. As CEO of OneAmerica Financial, Scott has impacted the aquatic community throughout America, specifically supporting the Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) space. In 2022, OneAmerica Financial committed to supporting the USA Swimming Foundation through the 10-year, $1 million initiative to develop learn-to-swim and competitive opportunities in communities across the country. 

“I am so proud to be a part of the swimming family,” said Davison. “This is a passion of mine; the USA Swimming Foundation is an incredible charity and it truly does build champions.”

On the final night of the Paris Games, the women’s 4x100m medley relay secured gold and a new world record. Winning the Relay of the Year award, swimmers Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Longhorn Aquatic Club), Lilly King (Evansville, Ind./Indiana Swim Club), Walsh, and Huske dominated the field and beat second place by over three seconds. Smith, King, and Walsh also won the award in 2023.

“I’m so thankful to be up here and for our prelims swimmers as well,” King said. “We (the finals swimmers) all had very intense schedules, so we would not be here without our prelims group...what I really remember from this relay is that we all felt that we had a chip on our shoulders. Whether we had an unbelievable meet or some heartbreak throughout the meet, we went in feeling like we were underdogs even though we were heavy, heavy favorites. That growth mindset is what set us apart from other teams, and it obviously was one of the best races we’ve ever had.”

Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala./New York Athletic Club) made her first Olympic team appearance at the Tokyo Games, where she claimed a silver medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay and placed seventh in the women’s 400m freestyle. Amidst health concerns, Madden missed competitive opportunities that led to a break from swimming. She bounced back to make this year’s Olympic Team and won a silver and bronze medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay and 800m freestyle, respectively. Placing behind gold medalist and teammate Ledecky in her individual event, her bronze medal became one of four individual events where the women placed two swimmers on the podium.

“I wouldn’t be here without all of you who are here today – all my teammates, my family, and the USA Swimming Foundation, thank you so much,” said Madden. “I truly think that everyone here has persevered through something in their lives, some of us are more vocal than others, but we all go through hard times. What’s most important is that we lean on each other. I found that through the last few years. I can truly walk away from the last year saying that I fell in love with the sport, and it didn’t matter if I won a medal or made the team or not, I loved every single day and just loved the daily grind.”

Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) was named the Fran Crippen Open Water Swimmer of the Year for the second-consecutive time. She was the first American athlete of any sport to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after her bronze medal finish in the women’s 10K at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Additionally, she was the first female athlete in history to qualify for both pool (women’s 400m individual medley, 1500m freestyle) and open water competition at the same Olympics. After six laps at Pont Alexandre Ill, Grimes placed 15th just ahead of teammate Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Indiana Swim Club).

Coach of the Year awardee Todd DeSorbo coached the American women to 18 total medals at the Paris Olympics – including five gold. In addition to his work on the international stage for USA Swimming, DeSorbo is the head coach at the University of Virginia, where the women have been repeat NCAA champions for four years. Out of the 19 brought home by the USA Swimming women, nine were claimed by his University of Virginia swimmers.

Finke also took home Male Athlete of the Year presented by OMEGA after securing two medals at the Games. After earning silver in the men’s 800m freestyle, he came back on the last day of pool competition to claim gold in the men’s 1500m freestyle. His swim secured back-to-back individual Olympic golds, a new world record, and the Male Race of the Year award.

Huske earned her third award of the night as Female Athlete of the Year presented by OMEGA from her outstanding performance at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. At the Games, she earned a total of five medals, three gold and two silver, tying teammate Smith for the most medals earned by the American swimmers. In addition to Female Athlete of the Year, Huske claimed Female Race of the Year and Relay Performance of the Year honors. She left the 2024 Golden Goggle Awards with the most awards out of any athlete.

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