ACOG - News - IBM

(22 July 1996; Day 03)

EVANS Fails to Qualify in 400m Freestyle Swimming Event

Janet EVANS, the most decorated women's swimmer in United States history, failed to qualify for the Olympic finals in the 400m freestyle on Monday, 22 July. The world recordholder in this event (4:03.85), posted a time of 4:13.60 in the first of three seeded preliminary heats. Just ahead of EVANS was Eri YAMANOI (JPN), who qualified for her first Olympic final. YAMANOI swam a 4:13.40, 0.20 seconds faster than EVANS. "It was just a really fast morning race. I thought 13 (4:13.00) would get in. I made a mistake in that I didn't go out fast enough," stated EVANS.

EVANS is swimming in her third Olympic Games. In 1988 she won three gold medals and a gold and silver at the 1992 Olympic games. She is the only U.S. woman to win four Olympic swimming gold medals. In 1994, she became the first non-East German female to win back-to-back World Championship titles, taking the 800m freestyle in Rome after winning that event in Perth in 1991. She is the undisputed queen of distance swimming, owning world records in the 400m freestyle (4:03.85); 800m freestyle (8:16.22); and the 1500m freestyle (15:52.10). She has been honored with numerous awards such as the 1989 Sullivan Award (given to the top United States amateur athlete); the Phillips Performance Award, and Performer of the Year at the Summer Nationals in 1987, for breaking the eight-year old 1500m world record.

The Los Angeles Invitational was renamed the Janet EVANS Invitational in her honor. With all her gold medals and personal awards, perhaps her greatest honor was having the distinction of carrying the Olympic torch part way around Centennial Olympic Stadium during the 1996 Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies, and handing the torch over to Muhammad Ali, who lit the Olympic flame.

"It was an incredible experience and I thank Billy Payne for it because I was really honored he chose me. I'm nervous before a swim race, but I was terrified. The neatest thing about being up there, (standing next to Muhammad Ali), is you could see it in his eyes how real it was. I can't speak for him but I know he's done amazing, amazing things in his life, but that was pretty, pretty cool."

EVANS dreams of a fifth Olympic gold medal are not over. On 24 July, EVANS will take her first step toward defending her two 800m freestyle Olympic championships, a distinction she has held since 1992. If she captures the gold, she will tie the record of Australia's Dawn FRASER, the only woman to win the same event at three successive Olympic Games.

When comparing the 400m with the 800m, EVANS stated, "I don't think there are as many fast girls in the 800, not that it's a slow race, because nothing in the Olympics is slow. I have a little more confidence in my 800 and now I have something to prove. If I win a medal, gosh that's great, but if I don't win a medal, I just want to go out and do my best and prove to myself that I can do better than I was today."

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by David Blanchard.


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