Meet Janet Evans: California Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025

At 2 years old, Janet Evans was swimming laps in the pool. By the time she was 3, she was able to do both the breaststroke and butterfly.

That was only the beginning for the natural born swimmer, who would go on to become the first woman to hold three world records simultaneously – all at age 15 – and win a total of four individual gold medals in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle events and the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.

On Sunday night (June 29), Evans will join four other legends – boxer Shane Mosley, San Francisco 49ers All Pro offensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Jesse Sapolu, soccer great Paul Caligiuri, and Olympian and NFL wide receiver Ron Brown – as the newest members of the California Sports Hall of Fame.

The five will be inducted during formal ceremonies at the Ontario Convention Center.

“Janet Evans was a true Olympic legend, and one of the greatest American women athletes of all time. It is a privilege to welcome her as a Hall of Famer, an honor she has earned through her performance and the example she set,” said Christian Okoye, a former NFL star who founded the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Evans was born in Fullerton, CA, and was swimming competitively by the age of 5. Her exploits as a teenager earned her a ticket to Stanford University, where she was an eight-time All American.

At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Evans dominated every event she entered, winning the 400-meter individual medley, the 400-meter freestyle and the 800-meter freestyle, breaking her own world record in the 400-meter freestyle and defeating her nearest rival in the 800-meter freestyle by almost three meters.

In 1992, she repeated her gold medal-winning performance in the 800-meter freestyle and won silver in the 400-meter freestyle.

Between 1986 and 1995, Evans won 25 of 27 major international races at 400 meters and 22 our 23 at 800 meters. Her 800 meters world record stood through four Olympic Games, until it was finally broken in 2008.

Evans has been a leading advocate for returning the Summer Olympics to Los Angeles and serves as chief athlete officer for the 2028 Summer Olympics Organizing Committee.

In 2021, Evans was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Tickets are still available for the California Sports Hall of Fame Gala at: https://www.californiasportshalloffame.org/p/tickets. The event starts with a reception at 4 p.m., followed by a dinner and induction ceremony beginning at 5 p.m.