Topic: Janet Evans

Janet Beth Evans (born August 28, 1971) is a American competitive swimmer who specializes in distance freestyle. She recently announced her comeback to the sport with intentions to swim in the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Born in Fullerton, California, Evans grew up in neighboring Placentia, where she started swimming competitively as a child. By the age of 11, she was setting National Age Group records in distance events. After graduating from El Dorado High School, she attended Stanford University and the University of Texas before graduating from the University of Southern California in 1994 with a degree in communication.

Evans was distinctive for her unorthodox "windmill" stroke and her apparently inexhaustible cardiorespiratory reserves. Slight of build and short of stature, she more than once found herself competing and winning against bigger and stronger athletes, some of whom were subsequently found to have been using performance-enhancing drugs.