SwimSwam’s Official Poll for the 2026 Golden Goggles Awards

USA Swimming has opened public voting for the 2026 Golden Goggles Awards. Last 12 months’s elimination of Race of the Year and the Perseverance Award has softened the debates for the annual awards present for the very best in American swimming, leaving a relatively-clear winner for many of the awards.

There is usually a niche between who we predict ought to win it and who we predict will win it. While the awards are labeled “of the year,” the committee that chooses the winners is hyper-fixated on the Operation Gold meet of the 12 months, which this season is Pan Pacs. But more and more, there are such a lot of good swims finished exterior of that meet that it’s price broadening the scope on what issues in these awards. Especially on the ladies’s aspect.

Below is the official SwimSwam poll of how we’re voting (our votes depend the identical as yours) as a information to creating your choices.

Fans can vote utilizing the online ballot, which is open now by means of Sunday, September 6 at 11:59 PM (Mountain Time). The awards ceremony will happen in Denver, Colorado on September twenty sixth.

Female Athlete of the Year

Nominees:

All 4 swimmers had nice years for various causes. For me, this award comes all the way down to Gretchen Walsh (5 gold, 2 silver at Pan Pacs) and Kate Douglass (4 gold, 2 silver at Pan Pacs).

While on uncooked numbers at Pan Pacs, Walsh had extra wins, Douglass’ finest win, the World Record within the 50 free, was the spotlight of American swimming this 12 months. It’s not solely that she broke the World Record, however she annihilated the previous mark (throughout a number of swims) of the legendary Sarah Sjostrom.

Walsh acquired underneath that World Record too earlier within the 12 months, however even that point is now .36 seconds shy of what Douglass did within the 50 free closing at Pan Pacs.

Combined with lacking the World Record within the 100 free by .01, and splitting 51.01 on the World Record-setting combined 400 medley relay, the resume stacks as much as help that one superb swim.

Douglass didn’t have an ideal season or an ideal meet. But that fifty free was to date past that it lifts her to the clear decide for this award.

Male Athlete of the Year

Nominees:

It has been so lengthy because the American males felt ‘on top’ in breaststroke races, and Van Mathias‘ one-of-a-kind story, swimming as sort of a ‘side hustle’ to the highest of the World Rankings, simply makes the joy a lot extra palpable.

A minor again damage muddled the street to a 2nd particular person gold medal at Pan Pacs, however silvers within the 50 breaststroke and 50 fly present that he’s an integral a part of the American group headed towards LA28 after not likely being on the Olympic radar for Paris.

He additionally swam a extremely good 57.30 cut up on the World Record-setting combined medley relay.

The listing is made up of the 4 American particular person gold medalists at Pan Pacs, and I feel the entire resume of Mathias at that meet, and all through the season, is the clear front-runner right here.

Coach of the Year

Nominees:

This is a U.S.-focused awards present, so the success of Texas’ swimmers (Marchand, Kos), Virginia’s swimmers (Curtis), and Indiana’s swimmers (Sarkany) at meets just like the European Championships don’t think about.

Even with out credit score for the brand new World Record holder within the 50 again, Italian Sara Curtis, Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo is the clear winner right here. Douglass and Walsh, in both order, are the 2 finest issues that USA Swimming has going proper now, and each prepare underneath DeSorbo.

But misplaced in all the success of his ladies’s program is that the Cavalier coach launched an enormous strain valve when Maximus Williamson, one of many high prospects for the way forward for USA Swimming, hit enormous enhancements in his first 12 months with this system. That included finest occasions in all 4 100 meter races, and the 200 IM, at US Nationals, and an NCAA title within the 200 yard freestyle.

It’s additionally price acknowledging the work that Looze has finished with Mathias. In a few years, that success alone would make him a contender for this award, however Virginia is on such a sizzling streak proper now, it’s laborious to look away from DeSorbo.

Open Water Swimmer of the Year

Nominees:

Becca Mann flying in from off stage and ending 4th at Pan Pacs within the 10km race, making her the top-placing American lady within the occasion, is strictly what American open water swimming wants.

Mann, previously a member of worldwide groups within the pool (together with bronze within the 1500 on the 2019 Pan American Games), went quiet for years. She swam only one meet between these Pan American Games and January 2025.

But she has returned not solely with a punch within the seas, however as a robust content material engine for open water swimming.

Already an creator, Mann has turned her artistic vitality towards open water swimming, the place she has turn out to be the very best content material creator on the American group. Open water swimming shouldn’t be as fashionable as pool swimming, and she or he nonetheless commonly will get hundreds of engagements on her posts.

She is the embodiment that investing vitality into social media, private model, and sport promotion doesn’t essentially imply a distraction from the laborious work that wins medals. The incontrovertible fact that she’s doing what she’s doing within the water, too, is a superb car to carry consideration to what she’s doing out of it.

Relay Performance of the Year

Nominees:

• Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay (Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass) – World Record (SwimSwam’s Pick)
• Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay (Luke Hobson, Aaron Shackell, Patrick Sammon, Gabriel Jett)
• Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay (Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, Simone Manuel)
• Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay (Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Luca Urlando, Jack Alexy)

There is all the time going to be a bias by a sure portion of the electorates (each the general public and the committee) towards combined relays, however this was clearly the United States’ finest effort. In Mathias, Walsh, and Douglass, the relay had three of the United States’ finest performers all on the identical relay.

The group broke the World Record by seven-tenths of a second, even whereas being 1.32 seconds off the tempo after the backstroke leg.

The Douglass 51.01 anchor is one for the historical past books.

If the American males had damaged the 800 free relay World Record, there would have been a extremely attention-grabbing debate for this honor. They have been on line to do it, and doubtless will within the subsequent two years.

Breakout Performer of the Year

Nominees:

These are all superb selections, and the committee for as soon as had the foresight to look away from simply the Operation Gold meet and seize swimmers like Mijatovic, Moesch, and Stadden, who weren’t on the Pan Pacs group.

To me, evaluating breakout awards requires evaluating each the amplitude of the breakout and the place the athletes landed.

In a 12 months of breakout swims and swimmers for Team USA, this one is a fully brutal one to determine. Anna Moesch broke the American Record within the 100 free a number of occasions earlier than Kate Douglass took it out at Pan Pacs. Mathias solely returned to competitors in July 2025 after a two-year hiatus and by June 2026 was the world #1 within the 100 breaststroke – the place he nonetheless stands, by greater than half-a-second.

Isabelle Stadden was on this path as a junior aged swimmer, however in her 6 months at Virginia went a finest time at nearly each meet she raced.

Luka Mijatovic shattered 17-18 data and put himself into critical competition for podium spots on the Los Angeles Olympics, whereas McKenzie Siroky gained her first main worldwide medal, gold within the 100 breaststroke, at Pan Pacs.

There’s no fallacious reply right here, however for Van Mathias to go from totally off the radar to presumably America’s finest male swimmer in a 12 months is difficult to disregard.

If you worth not giving the identical swimmer a number of awards, I feel Moesch can be subsequent on my listing – simply due to the amplitude of her breakthrough.