The Golden Goggles award ceremony was held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in the heart of New York City. This annual red carpet GALA benefits the USA Swimming Foundation. “It is great to be here. This is my seventh Golden Goggles ceremony. It is so much fun to see everyone,” she said.
This marked Katie Ledecky’s sixth career “Female Athlete of the Year” award. At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, Ledecky helped Team USA win five medals, which included three gold medals in the women’s 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1,500 meter freestyle races, as well as a bronze in the 200 meter freestyle, and a silver in the 4× 200 meter freestyle relay; moreover, in May of 2018, she set a new world record in the 1,500 meter freestyle race in the TYR Pro Swim Series.
Most impressive about Ledecky is that she has broken 14 world records in swimming throughout her respected career in the sport. “Those are great,” she said, referring to the world records. “It is always fun to swim fast, and continue to work towards my goals.”
In addition, her coach, Greg Meehan, took home his second consecutive “Coach of the Year” Golden Goggle award.
When asked what motivates her each day, Ledecky said, “My goals motivate me. I continue to set goals that are out in front of me, and I am working hard every day to achieve those goals.”
Over the last five years, she reflected that looking back in a rear-view mirror, she sees “a lot of travel to great countries” and “a lot of swimming.” “It’s a whirlwind. It’s crazy for me to think back to London, and to think that I have been at an international meet since then,” she said. “It is fun to meet new people.”
Ledecky encouraged young and aspiring swimmers “to keep working hard,” as well as “to keep setting goals,” and to “have fun.” She defined the word success as “Having fun and feeling like I am continuing to progress towards some meaningful goals, both in and out of the water.”
For more information on USA Swimming, check out its official website.
To learn more about world record holder swimmer Katie Ledecky, follow her on Twitter and on Instagram.
