American
swimmer, who won three gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South
Korea, and one gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Born
in Placentia, California, she attended high school and college throughout
her swimming career and graduated from the University of Southern California
in 1994.Evans rose to swimming prominence as a teenager. In 1987 she set world records in the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle events at the United States outdoor national championships in Clovis, California. In 1988 Evans broke her own world record in the 1500-meter freestyle at the U.S. indoor national championships in Orlando, Florida. At the 1988 Olympics, she won gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle (setting a world record), the 400-meter individual medley, and the 800-meter freestyle.
In 1989 Evans won the 400-meter freestyle, 400-meter individual medley, and 800-meter freestyle events in every major swimming competition she entered, and she set a world record in the 800-meter freestyle at a competition in Tokyo. That year these achievements earned her the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award, given annually by the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU) to the nation's outstanding amateur athlete. In 1992 Evans won her fourth Olympic gold medal with a victory in the 800-meter freestyle at the Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain. She also won a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle. Wins in the 800-meter freestyle at both the 1991 world championships in Perth, Australia, and the 1994 world championships in Rome, Italy, made Evans the first woman to win consecutive titles in a single event in both Olympic and world championship competition.