Katie Ledecky had another record-breaking year in 2022, garnering her the title of U.S. Female Swimmer of the Year for the eighth time.
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SwimSwam, the top American-based Swimming news website, presents the Swammy Awards each year. Swimmer of the Year, Junior Swimmer of the Year, Open Water Swimmer of the Year, Para-Swimmer of the Year, regional, NCAA, USA Swimming age group, and coaching awards are some of the categories. The Swammy Awards were established in 2012. In 2021, Emma McKeon (female) and Caeleb Dressel (male) won the awards respectively. It was Dressel’s fourth award since its inauguration. This year Nick Fink and Katie Ledecky have captured the top honors.
Nic Fink qualified for his first Olympic team in the 200 breaststroke in 2021. He left Tokyo without a medal after finishing fifth in the event. Fink made the most of the occasion in the absence of Peaty, who has dominated the long course international breaststroke scene for the better part of a decade, by winning the bronze in the 100 breaststroke in 58.65 seconds, just a second slower than his lifetime best of 58.37 at the US World Trials. His biggest achievement came in the 50 breaststroke, where he set a new American record with a lifetime best of 26.45 seconds, defeating Nicolo Martinenghi by 0.03 seconds.
Fink’s focus shifted to short course meters and the World Cup circuit in 2022. His performance here distinguished him from the other contenders for this honor. Fink dominated the breaststroke events from Berlin to Toronto and then in Indianapolis. He finished 9 for 9, sweeping the 50, 100, 200m breaststrokes, thus capturing three Triple Crowns. At the Short Course Worlds, he won the 50m breaststroke with a new championship and American record time of 25.38. In the 100 breaststroke, he advanced from bronze in 2021 to gold. With his silver medal performance of 2:01.60 in the 200 breaststroke, he created another Americas record, thus making a statement for the Swammy Awards 2022.
Katie Ledecky had another record-breaking year in 2022, with a revival of form and four gold medals at the World Championships garnering her the title of U.S. Female Swimmer of the Year for the eighth time. Ledecky was the only woman to win multiple gold medals (Worlds), capturing the women’s distance treble with triumphs in the 400, 800, and 1500 freestyle events. She swept the women’s distance events at Worlds for the fourth time, having done so in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Ledecky’s 800 freestyle timing of 8:08.04 at Worlds was her fastest since 2018, while her 1500 freestyle timing of 15:30.15 was her fastest since March 2020 and more nearly seven seconds faster than she raced in the Tokyo Olympic final.
The next week, Ledecky set a new world record in the 800 freestyle short course meter with a timing of 7:57.42. Despite winning two Olympic gold medals in Tokyo, many questioned whether her best days were gone, considering that her timings which were significantly slower than her career bests. But Ledecky proved this year that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Read more: WATCH: Swimmer Katie Ledecky Breaks World Records in 800m, 1500m Freestyle Short-course
