Janet Evans Biography - Born In Fullerton, California, Hard Work Pays Off, Chronology, Continues To Break Records - CONTACT INFORMATION
meter individual swimming gold
1971-
American swimmer
The first American woman to win four individual Olympic gold medals in swimming, Janet Evans first took to the water while still in diapers. At the very tender age of one, Evans went into the water at the North Orange County YMCA pool, not far from her home in Placentia, California. By the time the diminutive (5 feet, 4 inches and 99 pounds) Evans was 17, she had set three world records. At the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, her trademark bursts of speed in the pool carried her to gold in three individual Olympic swimming events: the 400-meter and 800-meter freestyle swims and the 400-meter individual medley. Towards the end of each race, Evans would rapidly increase her stroke rate to propel her to a winning finish, often besting competitors as much as 60 pounds heavier and with longer arms and bodies. Evans, who qualified for the U.S. swim team at three successive Olympics (in 1988, 1992, and 1996), captured another gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and in the process became the first woman to win the 800-meter freestyle in two consecutive Olympics. Although she qualified for the American swim team at Atlanta in 1996, Evans never came close to medaling and retired from competitive swimming not long thereafter.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: Janet Evans, 8 Barneburg, Dove Canyon, CA 92679-4210.
Additional Topics
Evans was born in Fullerton, California, on August 28, 1971. The youngest of the three children of Paul (a veterinarian) and Barbara (a homemaker) Evans, she grew up in nearby Placentia. She was walking by the time she was eight months old, and she first hit the water at the age of one, taking a brief dip in the swimming pool at the nearby North Orange County YMCA. Her mother enrolled Evans in swi…
All of Evans' hard work paid off. In 1986 she qualified to compete in the Goodwill Games, held in Moscow, where she finished third in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle events. At the U.S. Open, later in the year, she won the 400- and 800-meter freestyle events, as well as the 400-meter individual medley. The following year at the U.S. Long Course Championship, Evans set world reco…
Evans continued to break records after her brilliant performance at the Seoul Olympics. At the Pan Pacific Games in 1989, she broke her own world record in the 800-meter freestyle. At the 1992 Goodwill Games, she won the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle races and finished second in the 400-meter individual medley. At the 1992 Olympic trials for the summer games in Barcelona, Evans handily qual…
An important force in Evans' swimming career was Richard Quick, a longtime Olympic coach and the coach of the women's swimming and diving programs at Stanford University for more than 15 years. Quick was the head coach of the men's and women's swim teams at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, assistant coach of the women's team in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, a…
"Janet Evans."Great Women in Sports. Visible Ink Press, 1996. "Janet Evans."Newsmakers 1989, Issue 4. Gale Research, 1989. "Janet Evans."Sports Stars, Series 1-4. U•X•L, 1994-1998. Dugard, Martin. "No Fish Out of Water."Runner's World, (March 1994): 36. Skow, John. "One Last Splash."Time, (Summer 1996): 60. …
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