FINA rewards best aquatic athletes of 2016
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E-mail Xinhua, December 5, 2016
FINA has recognized Rio Olympic champions Chen Aisen and Shi Tingmao as Athletes of the Year in the diving category, according to a statement on the organization's official website released on Monday.
FINA paid tribute to the best athletes of 2016 during its World Aquatics Gala - "Soirée des Etoiles" held in Windsor, Canada. The group recognized the best male and female competitors in each of the aquatic disciplines, with the results from Rio 2016 largely determining the outcome.
Chinese divers Chen Aisen, who bagged two gold medals in Rio, and Shi Tingmao, Olympic champion in the 3m individual and synchro springboard, were rewarded as the best in their categories for 2016. Liu Ben, the coach of the two diving stars, was also recognized.
Michael Phelps of the United States and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary were the Best of the Year in swimming, after their outstanding performances in Rio. Phelps won six medals, including five gold, while Hosszu nabbed three titles, breaking one world record and one Olympic record in the process.
Phelps also received a special award from FINA: "Aquatic Legend, the Greatest of All Time." It was a tribute to the superstar, who retired following the 2016 Games. Phelps earned 28 medals at the Olympic level, an unprecedented feat across all sports.
The best Olympic swimming performance awards went to Adam Peaty of Britain and Katie Ledecky of the United States. In water polo, Serbian Dejan Savic and Adam Krikorian from the United States were the respective winners in the men and women's categories.
Olympic gold medalists Ferry Weertman and Sharon Rouwendaal, both from the Netherlands, won in the Open Water Swimming category, while Russian synchronized swimmers Svetlana Romashina and Natalia Ishchenko, winners of the duet and team events in Rio, got their discipline's prize.
In addition, World Cup winners Gary Hunt of Britain and Lysanne Richard from Canada were recognized as the best high divers of the year.
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