Janet Evans
Making it far in NBC’s reality show Celebrity Circus is going to take a certain amount of athletic ability, something that contestant Jenny Evans has in abundance.
Jenny Evans was born in Placentia, California on August 28, 1971. She began swimming at a young age and by the age of 11; she was already setting National Age Group records. Janet broke the world records for the 400-, 800-, and 1,500 meter freestyle events in 1987. She attended the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul where she won a gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle event, the 800 meter freestyle event, and the 400 meter medley event. Janet’s record for the 400 meter freestyle event would stand until it was broken by Laure Manaudou in 2006 – 18 years later! Janet held the 1,500 meter record from March 1988 until it was broken by Kate Ziegler in June 2007. Janet still holds the 800 meter record, which she set in 1989, with a time of 8:16:22. This record has lasted through four Olympics games and it is one of the longest standing records in swimming. In 1989, Janet was named as the James E. Sullivan Award winner, an honor given each year to the top amateur athlete in the U.S.
Janet attended the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and won the gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle and the silver medal in the 400 meter freestyle. She also won the 1991 and 1994 World titles in the 800 meter freestyle. Janet was the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic and World Championship titles in any event. She also has won the most national titles by any swimmer in one event having won the 400 meter and the 800 meter freestyle at the U.S. National Championships 12 times.
Janet attended the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. While she did not win a medal, she did carry the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony and had the pleasure of handing the torch to another famous Olympian, boxing champ Muhammad Ali. In 1987, 1989, and 1990, Janet was named the Female World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine. Throughout her swimming career, Janet earned endorsement contracts with Speedo, McDonalds, and SkinMedica/Vaniqa. She currently tours as a motivational speaker and conducts swim clinics upon request. She has written the book Janet Evans’ Total Swimming, which includes 60 workouts and 12 programs to strengthen your swimming skills and improve your fitness level.
Read these other great entries