By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
USA Swimming celebrated the 2026 Golden Goggle Awards in Denver last night, handing out seven awards and celebrating the performances from the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California.
2026 Golden Goggle Award Winners
Female Athlete of the Year: Kate Douglass Male Athlete of the Year: Van Mathias Coach of the Year: Todd DeSorbo Fran Crippen Open Water Athlete of the Year: Becca Mann Relay of the Year presented by Toyota: Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay – Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Gretchen Walsh, and Kate Douglass Alumni of the Year: Emily Klueh Breakout Performer of the Year: McKenzie SirokyKate Douglass and Van Mathias brought home the Female and Male Athlete of the Year awards, respectively.
For Douglass, this marks her 3rd Golden Goggle award and 2nd individual honor, having shared the Female Athlete of the Year Award in 2023 with Katie Ledecky, and unleashed a fury in the 50 free at Pan Pacs, which included a pair of World Records: first in the prelims in 23.49, before blowing that time out of the water in the finals in 23.19. She also led off the 4×100 free relay for the US team in 51.69, lowering the American Record, and narrowly missing the world record by 0.01 seconds.
“Looking back on this last year, I don’t think I would have thought Female Athlete of the Year was in my future. Obviously, there are so many amazing swimmers on Team USA right now. So, I was really excited about my performances this summer. It surprised me and others. It wasn’t necessarily the events I had focused on at the beginning of the year.” Douglass said about the award in a press release from USA Swimming. “I was really excited to see how this year ended up, and I’m happy to be here to celebrate it all, and I’m just proud of all my teammates.”
Mathias comes home with his first career Golden Goggle as Male Athlete of the Year, after spending most of the season tearing apart American Records left and right. First lowering the 50 breast record at the Bergen Swim Festival in April, the mustached-Mathias continued to turn heads, showcasing his pure racing ability in breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. He ended the year as a relay ace and a pair of individual American Records in the 50 Breast (26.30) and 100 breast (58.01).
“I don’t know how to process this. It doesn’t feel real. But it’s fun, it’s exciting. I didn’t think that I would be doing this a year ago. I’m in shock. This year I’ve learned a lot, not only in the pool, but about myself.” Mathias said in the press release from USA Swimming. “I’ve faced a lot of challenges and obstacles at work and in life. I think I’ve matured a lot this year, and it’s all gone by fast. One of the things I’ve learned I need to do is to enjoy moments like this and soak it in.”
Todd DeSorbo brings home his 3rd straight Coach of the Year award, having led the likes of Douglass and Gretchen Walsh to World Records this past season, and was the leading force in the University of Virginia winning their sixth straight women’s NCAA team title.
Becca Mann was the top-finishing U.S. woman in the 10k event at the Pan Pacific Open Water Championships in Long Beach, finishing 4th in 1:56:15, and helped contribute to the U.S. winning the overall team award.
The only world-record-breaking relay at Pan Pacs came in the mixed 4×100 medley, as the team of Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Gretchen Walsh, and Kate Douglass took more than half a second off the former standard of 3:47.43 in 3:46.70. That relay included some massive splits from Mathias on the breaststroke (57.30) and Douglass on the anchor (51.01).
Emily Klueh was named Alumni of the Year after spending 10 years on the US National Team, and has since served as Program Coordinator for Athletes Connected, which supports athletes’ mental health. In 2023, she returned to USA Swimming as Manager of Psychological Services, the first of her role in the organization.
McKenzie Siroky was named Breakout Performer of the Year, propelling herself to the top of the US women’s breaststroke ranks by winning the 100 breast at Pan Pacs in a lifetime best of 1:05.32. She also swam on the gold-medal-winning 4×100 medley relay and won silver in the 50 breast.
“The reason why these swimmers can do what we do is because of the amount of support we have. I appreciate everyone who pours into our athletes, which lets us go out and compete.” Siroky said. “And it’s just such an honor to be standing here with all these alumni and all the people that support us.”
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