Contents
Janet Evans
Winning four Olympic swimming gold medals with a distinctive windmill freestyle stroke.
Seoul golds · Barcelona medals
- Born
- 28 August 1971
- Birthplace
- Fullerton, United States
More people
Janet Evans
Janet Evans is an American distance swimmer whose records and Olympic victories challenged assumptions about the physique needed to dominate the pool.
Early life
California childhood
Grew up in Placentia and began competing as a young child.
Coaching
Developed under coach Bud McAllister.
Career
- 1987
World records
Set records over three freestyle distances.
- 1988
Olympic breakthrough
Won three gold medals in Seoul.
- 2012
Comeback attempt
Returned to the US Olympic trials after a long retirement.
Achievements
Seoul golds
Won the 400m individual medley and 400m and 800m freestyle.
Barcelona medals
Won 800m freestyle gold and 400m freestyle silver.
Distance records
Established long-lasting marks in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle.
Beyond sport
Olympic ceremony
Handed the torch to Muhammad Ali at Atlanta’s 1996 opening ceremony.
Education
Attended Stanford and later graduated from the University of Southern California.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Further source ↗Photo: PoolSafely. CC BY 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
