"Severely humbling" - Regan Smith, Katie Ledecky and other USA swimmers take the Grip Strength Challenge during the Golden Goggles Awards

The recently held Golden Goggles Awards saw Regan Smith, Katie Ledecky, and other USA swimmers stepping up to the Grip Strength Challenge, turning the spotlight on their strength. The annual Award event held by USA Swimming was held on November 23, 2024, at the Marriott Downtown in Indianapolis.

The 2024 Golden Goggles Awards were graced by elite swimmers, including Ledecky, Smith, Carson Foster, Simone Manuel, Phoebe Bacon, Blake Peroni, Lilly King, Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh, and Nic Fink, all coming together to honor the best American swimmers.

While the legendary swimmer Ledecky scored 101.0 lbs, the sister duo of Gretchen and Alex Walsh displayed 95.6 lbs and 93.6 lbs, respectively. The two-time Olympian Becon, posted the highest score in the women's category with 117.8 lbs. Smith posted 75.8 lbs on the equipment.

The Unfiltered Water podcast shared a video of the fun challenge on social media, to which Smith reacted by stating that it was grounding.

"Um this is severely humbling," Smith wrote.

The recently retired three-time Olympic gold medalist Peroni listed the highest score of 165.2 lbs on the equipment followed by Fink's 146.6 lbs and Held's 140.8 lbs. Foster, Manuel, and King registered 124.8 lbs, 104.4 lbs, and 103.8 lbs, respectively.

Katie Ledecky expresses her gratitude to USA Swimming following her appearance at the 2024 Golden Goggles Awards

Katie Ledecky in action poses after winning the Women's 1500m Freestyle Final at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Photo via Getty Images)

Katie Ledecky expressed her gratitude towards USA Swimming for celebrating the achievements of American swimmers. She also acknowledged Indianapolis for hosting the event. Further, she highlighted her motivation to continue progressing and achieving more in the future.

"Another fun Golden Goggles, thank you @usaswimming and the @swim_foundation," Ledecky wrote. "Thanks to all who have supported the Foundation’s mission of saving lives and building champions, and thank you Indy for lots of great memories this year. Thank you and congratulations to my teammates and coaches for an incredible year‼️ Let’s keep it movin’ ❤️🇺🇸"

At the 2024 Paris Games, Ledecky secured two gold medals in the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle, a silver in the 4x200m freestyle, and a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle event.

While Bobby Finke was awarded the Male Athlete of the Year Award and Male Race of the Year, Torri Huske was conferred the Female Athlete of the Year Award and Female Race of the Year Award at the Golden Goggles Awards.