Evans Quits Stanford to Train for Olympics

Olympic champion Janet Evans said Wednesday that she will pass up her final two years of college eligibility at Stanford to concentrate on training for the 1992 Olympics.

“Because of the NCAA rules, I’m giving up my eligibility,” Evans, 19, of Placentia, said. “I’m taking a year off to train. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I made up my mind this week.”

At the U.S. Spring Nationals in Federal Way, Wash., Evans said she was upset by new NCAA legislation that goes into effect next fall that will restrict swimmers from training more than 20 hours a week. Evans said she trains 30 to 35 hours a week.

“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life worrying if I’m spending an hour extra a day, and am I going to get banned by the NCAA?” Evans said.

By leaving college, Evans is eligible to receive $36,000 from the swimming federation this year and $3,000 from the United States Olympic Committee.