Golden Goggles: Ledecky, Urlando Top Winners

The 22nd annual USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards were held Sept. 27 at the Denver Art Museum in Denver, featuring a shortened five-award program and benefitting the USA Swimming Foundation. Katie Ledecky was named Female Athlete of the Year after winning the 800m and 1500m freestyle golds at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, setting a championship record in the 800 and claiming her seventh world title in that event; she also earlier this year broke her own 800m world record (8:04.12) at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Series. Luca Urlando was named Male Athlete of the Year following standout performances at Worlds. The U.S. women’s 4x100 medley relay earned Relay Performance of the Year after posting a world-record 3:49.34 in Singapore, with finals swimmers Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske (prelims: Katharine Berkoff, Lilly King, Claire Curzan, Simone Manuel). The U.S. National Team was on site for the weekend, combining training at the Olympic Training Center with team activities and social posts, including a visit to a petting zoo.