Smith Wins 2015 Golden Goggle Award

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Nov. 23, 2015

LOS ANGELES—Virginia junior swimmer Leah Smith was honored with the Relay Performance of the Year Award at the 2015 Golden Goggle Awards Sunday (Nov. 22) in Los Angeles. The annual event honors USA Swimming coaches and athletes for their work and performances throughout the year.

Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and teammates Katie McLaughlin and Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky were honored for their part of the women’s 4x200m free relay that captured gold at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, in August.

Smith swam the third leg of the relay in 1:56.86. The Americans won in a time of 7:45.37, ahead of Italy and China. Smith also led-off the American preliminary relay that won its heat in 7:52.61 with a personal-best time of 1:57.52.

It is the second-consecutive year Smith has been a part of the Relay Performance of the Year. Smith, along with Franklin, Ledecky and Shannon Vreeland won gold in the 4x200m free relay at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in Gold Coast, Australia.

Smith and the Cavaliers return to action Dec. 4-6 at the Georgia Fall Invitational in Athens, Ga.