Mission Viejo Meet of Champions : Evans Wins 400 Individual Medley : Her Evening Time is 4 Seconds Better Than Morning Time

Even when she is swimming two strokes she doesn’t like, or an event she doesn’t normally swim, or at the wrong time of day, Janet Evans remains a sports prodigy.

Ranked fifth in the world in the 400-meter individual medley, Evans was expected to win. Friday morning at the Mission Viejo Meet of Champions at the Marguerite Recreation Center, she swam her heat in 4 minutes 56.18 seconds. But she was still not at her best.

“I was just tired,” said Evans, 15, who swims for the Fullerton Aquatic Swim Team. “I’m just not a morning person.”

Apparently. In the final that evening, fully awake, she led the entire race and swam 4:51.55, an improvement of more than four seconds. Tami Bruce, swimming for San Jose’s Aquatics, was second in 4:57.47, almost six seconds behind Evans. Tracy Caulkins holds the meet record of 4:47.20.

Mission Viejo’s Amy Shaw, who finished sixth with a time of 5:01.87, was not surprised at Evans’ performance.

Said Shaw: “I always expect Janet to swim faster every time she’s in the water.”

Tiffany Cohen, who won the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 1984 Olympics, finished the race seventh and was impressed, too.

“I think she’s (Evans) pretty far ahead of everyone,” Cohen said.

That distance might only increase. As a swimmer specializing in long-distance races, Evans’ favorite strokes are the freestyle and breaststroke. She swam each of those for 100 meters to win the 400 individual medley but she also had to swim 100 meters each of backstroke and butterfly, her weaker strokes. How she improves those strokes could determine her success.

“At the U.S. Open, Tracy Caulkins was handing out the awards, and she told Janet that her splits in the breaststroke and freestyle were faster than hers when she set the American record,” said FAST Coach Bud McAllister. “That’s what I’m working her on, is her fly and back.”

The improvements seemed already under way. Swimming in what she considers an off event, Evans finished second (2:19.68) to Bruce’s 2:18.58 in the 200-meter butterfly. It was the only other race in which Evans competed.

“Her time was real good, especially for being as tired as she was,” McAllister said.

Susannah Miller, who swims for Indian Valley, won the women’s 100-meter backstroke with a 1:07.02. In one of the meet’s closer finishes, Jennifer Pokluda edged Mission Viejo’s Diane Graner by 5/100ths of a second for second place.

Matt Biondi, the University of California swimmer who holds world records in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles as well as the American record in the 200-meter freestyle, wasn’t impressive.

He failed to make either the final or consolation final in the 200-meter freestyle. His time of 1:58.37 was good for only 18th place.

However, he did swim the fastest heat time (23.72) in the preliminaries of the 50-meter freestyle. The final will be held tonight. The 100-meter leg (23.72) he swam for the Golden Bears’ 400-meter relay team was up to par.

Biondi, who had a long workout Tuesday, then drove down from Berkeley Wednesday, said he was just exhausted.

“Right now I just don’t have any speed,” said Biondi, considered one of the best sprinters ever. “I’m just tired as hell.”

Swimming continues today and Sunday with preliminary events at 9:30 followed by the finals at 5 p.m.