Janet Evans
Janet Elizabeth Evans (born
August 28,
1971) is a record-breaking
American competitive
swimmer.
Born in
Placentia, California, Evans started competitive
swimming as a child. By the age of 11 she was setting National Age Group records in the longer events. In
1987, she broke the world records in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter
freestyle events. At the
1988 Summer Olympics in
Seoul, she won three gold medals. In the games, she set a new world record in the 400-meter freestyle event; this record would hold for 18 years until
Laure Manaudou broke it in
May 2006. Evans holds the current world records in the 800 meters (set in August of 1989) and 1,500 meters (set in March of 1988). Both records are the longest standing in the sport of swimming, each lasting through four Olympic Games.
She was named the
1989 recipient of the
James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.
Following the her 1988 performance, Evans continued to dominate the American and world distance scene. She became the first woman ever to win back-to-back Olympic and World Championship titles in any event, taking the 1988 and 1992 Olympic titles and the 1991 and 1994 World titles in the 800m freestyle.
She won the 400m and 800m free at the U.S. National Championships 12 times each, the most national titles in one event by any swimmer in the 100-year history of the event.
Her career ended with the
1996 Summer Olympics in
Atlanta. She did not medal, but she added one more highlight to her career, when she was given the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch at the Opening Ceremony, handing the torch to U.S. Olympic boxing legend
Muhammad Ali to light the cauldron.
In the pool, she finished ninth in the prelims of the 400m freestyle. She didn't qualify for the finals, as only the top eight times advanced. In the final swim of her career, Evans finished sixth in the 800m freestyle.
At the end of her career, she held six U.S. records, three world records, five Olympic medals, including four gold and 45 U.S. national titles -- second only to
Tracy Caulkins.
Evans was distinctive for her unorthodox asymmetric ("loping") stroke and her apparently inexhaustible cardiorespiratory reserves. Slight of build and short of stature, she more than once found herself competing and winning against bigger and stronger athletes, some of whom were subsequently found to have been using performance-enhancing drugs.
She was named the Female World Swimmer of the Year by
Swimming World magazine in 1987, 1989 and 1990.
*
Official website*
IOC profile*
Current information about Janet Evans*
Janet Evans' U.S. Olympic Team bio*
UNDER THE SEA: Janet Evans & Bill Willson
