Janet Evans

Janet Evans was born on August 28, 1971 in Placentia, California. She started competitively swimming very young, so that by the time she was 11 years old she set National Age Group records in long distance events like the 400, 800, and 1,500 meter freestyle. In the 1998 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Evans won 3 gold medals, and set a new world record for the 400-meter freestyle. She held this record for 18 years until Laure Manaudou broke it in May 2006. The two other records that she holds which are in the 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle events are both the longest standing records in the history of swimming. Each of these records have lasted through four Olympic games.

After the 1988 Olympics she continued to do well in the American and international swimming world. In 1989 Evans received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the US. In addition to her award she became the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic and World Champion titles in any swim event. She won the 1988 1992 Olympic titles and the 1991 and 1994 World titles for the 800 meter freestyle. One of her other accomplishments was that she won the 400 and 800 meter freestyle and the U.S. National Championship 12 times each, which was the most national titles in one event by any swimmer.

The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta marked the end of Evan's career. Even though she did not win a medal in this Olympic games, she added one last honor to her career when she carried the Olympic Torch at the Opening Ceremony. When she retired from swimming, she held 6 US records, 3 world records, 5 Olympic medals, and 45 national titles. Tracy Caulkins was the only other swimmer to achieve that much in her career.

Olympic Medal Record

Medal	Time and Place	Event and Distance
Gold	1988 Seoul	400 meter freestyle
Gold	1988 Seoul	800 meter freestyle
Gold	1988 Seoul	400 meter IM
Gold	1992 Barcelona	800 meter freestyle
Silver	1992 Barcelona	400 meter freestyle

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