The 2008 Swimming World Male and Female World Swimmers of the Year are Michael Phelps of the U.S. and Stephanie Rice of Australia.
MALE
1. MICHAEL PHELPS, USA
2. Kosuke Kitajima, Japan
3. Ryan Lochte, USA
4t. Aaron Peirsol, USA
4t. Tae Hwan Park, Korea
The choice of Michael Phelps as the Male World Swimmer of the Year came via a unanimous vote by the panel after the man put together the strongest Olympics ever. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps broke Mark Spitz' record with eight gold medals.
Here is a laundry list of Phelps' performance in Beijing:
• Four individual world records: the 200 free (1:42.96), 200 fly (1:52.03), 200 IM (1:54.23) and 400 IM (4:03.84).
• A member of three relay world records: the 400 medley (3:29.34), 400 free (3:08.24) and 800 free (6:58.56).
• An unprecedented eight Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Phelps also did what no one has done in the history of the award, dating back to Don Schollander's honor in 1964 – win the award five times. No other swimmer has been able to reproduce Phelps' longevity at the pinnacle of the sport. Heading into the year, Phelps had tied Ian Thorpe with four World Swimmer of the Year awards. Now, Phelps stands alone in another category as the man has ascended to the very top of the food chain in the sport of swimming, both in present day and in history's reflection.
FEMALE
1. STEPHANIE RICE, Australia
2. Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe
3. Rebecca Adlington, Great Britain
4. Britta Steffen, Germany
5. Natalie Coughlin, USA
Rice returned the Female World Swimmer of the Year award to Australia for the third time in four years as Leisel Jones won the title in 2005 and 2006. The trifecta makes Australia the first country with three wins on the women's side since Janet Evans gave the U.S. three titles in four years from 1987-90. Rice finished her amazing year with world records in the 200 IM (2:08.45) and 400 IM (4:29.45). She also won three gold medals in Beijing with victories in both IMs and the 800 freestyle relay. |