Indiana University’s Lilly King earned five nominations, while Blake Pieroni and head swimming coach Ray Looze also earned nominations 2017 Golden Goggle Awards.
The 14th edition of the annual awards show will take place on Sunday, Nov. 19 at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. The nation’s top swimmers and coaches are nominated in eight categories for the celebration and fundraising gala honoring the sport’s top performances of the year.
King is nominated for Female Athlete of the Year, twice in Female Race of the Year and twice in Relay Performance of the Year. Last year, King won Breakout Performer of the Year.
The Evansville, Ind. native won gold and surpassed world records in the 50m and 100m breaststrokes with times of 29.40 and 1:04.13, respectively. King added gold in the 4x100m medley relay and 4x100m mixed medley relay for a total of four gold medals at the 2017 FINA World Championships. Earlier in 2017, King defended her NCAA titles in the 100y and 200y breast.
Pieroni is nominated as part of the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay at the 2017 FINA World Championships. The Americans led wire-to-wire to claim their first victory in the event at the FINA World Championships since 2009.
Looze is nominated for Coach of the Year after guiding four swimmers to spots on the U.S. roster at the FINA World Championships and all earned a spot on the podium. Lilly King led the way with four gold medals, as well as world-record performances in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events.
Pieroni, Zane Grothe and Cody Miller combined to earn five relay medals in Budapest. A women’s assistant coach for the FINA World Championships, Looze was named the 2017 ASCA Coach of the Year. He also led Indiana to top-eight finishes at the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships in 2017.
Online fan voting is now open and will continue through Friday, Nov. 10. A percentage of the fan vote will count towards the final ballot.
Golden Goggle Award nominations are based on the year’s top accomplishments by U.S. swimmers, focusing primarily on the 2017 FINA World Championships. The Americans topped the medal table in Budapest with 41 total medals across pool and open water competition. The complete list of 2017 Golden Goggle Award nominees by category is below.
Proceeds from the Golden Goggle Awards benefit the USA Swimming Foundation, which has the mission to save lives and build champions – in the pool and in life. In addition to its Make a Splash initiative, a national, child-focused water safety campaign that stresses the importance of learning to swim, the USA Swimming Foundation supports the U.S. National Team and its development efforts aim to establish an endowment to strengthen the future of USA Swimming’s programs and services. The Foundation also serves as the home for our National and Olympic Team Alumni reunions and regional events.
