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Janet Evan could be considered the
greatest distance swimmer in history. Known for her exceptional
speed, she burst into the swimming scene at the age of 15 and
moved to the front of the pool. Evans began swimming at the
age of 18 months at the local YMCA. "I never remember not
swimming," she said, noting that she had competed in local
swim meets because her brothers competed before her. She swam
her first competition at the age of four. But it was when she
and her parents attended the 1980 Olympics in Los Angeles that
she decided to compete for a place on the Olympic team. Fulfilling
this goal meant years of starting the day with swim practice
at 4:15 a.m. until it was time for school, and then swimming
another three hours after school. The years of training paid
off for her. In 1987, at the age of 15, Evans won four gold
medals at the U.S. national championships and set three world
records. At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, she
won gold medals in the 400-meter individual medley, the 400-meter
freestyle (setting a world record), and the 800-meter freestyle
(setting an Olympic record). During the height of her swimming
career, Janet Evans was always in the lead.
After the 1988 Games she continued to set world records, winning
seven national championships in 1989. Those performances won
her the 1989 Sullivan Award as the country's outstanding amateur
athlete of the year as well as the U. S. Olympic Committee's
Sportswoman of the Year award. Competing for Stanford University
in 1990 and 1991, Evans continued to dominate American swimming,
winning the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle events at the collegiate
championships both years. At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona,
Spain, she won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and a
silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle. Her participation in
the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Ga., was her third consecutive Olympics--a
rare feat in swimming.
The first woman to break the 16 minute mark in the 1500, her
world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyles still stand,
with no one having made a serious run at lowering her times.
"My world records were so far ahead of what everyone else
was swimming that I could be 10 seconds off and still win world
championships," Evans recalled. The woman regarded as the
greatest distance swimmer in history retired after the 1996
Atlanta Games. Her days in chlorine-choked pools have been replaced
with speaking engagements, swim clinics and endorsement appearances.
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